5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), used medically as oxitriptan, is a naturally occurring amino acid and chemical precursor as well as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
N-Methyl-N-ethyltryptamine (MET) is a psychedelic tryptamine. It is closely related to DMT and DET. The lysergamide counterpart of MET is ETH-LAD, an analogue of LSD first developed and characterized by Alexander Shulgin.
A serotonin receptor agonist is an agonist of one or more serotonin receptors. They activate serotonin receptors in a manner similar to that of serotonin, a neurotransmitter and hormone and the endogenous ligand of the serotonin receptors.
In behavioral psychology, stimulus control is a phenomenon in operant conditioning that occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given stimulus and another way in its absence. A stimulus that modifies behavior in this manner is either a discriminative stimulus or stimulus delta. For example, the presence of a stop sign at a traffic intersection alerts the driver to stop driving and increases the probability that braking behavior occurs. Stimulus control does not force behavior to occur, as it is a direct result of historical reinforcement contingencies, as opposed to reflexive behavior elicited through classical conditioning.
Istradefylline, sold under the brand name Nourianz, is a medication used as an add-on treatment to levodopa/carbidopa in adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) experiencing "off" episodes. Istradefylline reduces "off" periods resulting from long-term treatment with the antiparkinson drug levodopa. An "off" episode is a time when a patient's medications are not working well, causing an increase in PD symptoms, such as tremor and difficulty walking.
Quipazine is a serotonergic drug of the piperazine group which is used in scientific research. It was originally intended as an antidepressant but never developed for medical use.
Hallucinogens are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorized as either being psychedelics, dissociatives, or deliriants.
Preladenant is a drug that was developed by Schering-Plough which acted as a potent and selective antagonist of the adenosine A2A receptor. It was being researched as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease. Positive results were reported in Phase II clinical trials in humans, but it did not prove itself to be more effective than a placebo during Phase III trials, and so was discontinued in May 2013.
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-fluoroamphetamine (DOF) is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. Alexander Shulgin briefly describes DOF in his book PiHKAL:
Animal studies that have compared DOF to the highly potent DOI and DOB imply that the human activity will be some four to six times less than these two heavier halide analogues.
Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), also known as pentylenetetrazole, leptazol, metrazol, pentetrazol (INN), pentamethylenetetrazol, Corazol, Cardiazol, or Deumacard, is a drug formerly used as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. High doses cause convulsions, as discovered by Hungarian-American neurologist and psychiatrist Ladislas J. Meduna in 1934. It has been used in convulsive therapy, and was found to be effective—primarily for depression—but side effects such as uncontrolled seizures were difficult to avoid. In 1939, pentylenetetrazol was replaced by electroconvulsive therapy, which is easier to administer, as the preferred method for inducing seizures in England's mental hospitals. In the US, its approval by the Food and Drug Administration was revoked in 1982. It is used in Italy as a cardio-respiratory stimulant in combination with codeine in a cough suppressant drug.
25iP-NBOMe is a derivative of the phenethylamine hallucinogen 2C-iP, which acts as a highly potent agonist for the human 5-HT2A receptor.
Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a conditioned stimulus that has been associated with rewarding or aversive stimuli via classical conditioning alters motivational salience and operant behavior. Two distinct forms of Pavlovian-instrumental transfer have been identified in humans and other animals – specific PIT and general PIT – with unique neural substrates mediating each type. In relation to rewarding stimuli, specific PIT occurs when a CS is associated with a specific rewarding stimulus through classical conditioning and subsequent exposure to the CS enhances an operant response that is directed toward the same reward with which it was paired. General PIT occurs when a CS is paired with one reward and it enhances an operant response that is directed toward a different rewarding stimulus.
Hyperlocomotion, also known as locomotor hyperactivity, hyperactivity, or increased locomotor activity, is an effect of certain drugs in animals in which locomotor activity is increased. It is induced by certain drugs like psychostimulants and NMDA receptor antagonists and is reversed by certain other drugs like antipsychotics and certain antidepressants.
N-Benzyl-2C-B is a recreational designer drug from the 25-NB subgroup of the substituted phenethylamine family, with psychedelic effects. It has a binding affinity (Ki) of 16 nM at the serotonin receptor 5-HT2A and 90 nM at 5-HT2C and reportedly has a potency in between that of 2C-B and NBOMe-2C-B.
6-Fluoro-DET is a substituted tryptamine derivative related to drugs such as DET and 5-fluoro-DET. It acts as a partial agonist at the 5-HT2A receptor, but while it produces similar physiological effects to psychedelic drugs, it does not appear to produce psychedelic effects itself even at high doses. For this reason it saw some use as an active placebo in early clinical trials of psychedelic drugs but was regarded as having little use otherwise, though more recent research into compounds such as AL-34662, TBG and AAZ-A-154 has shown that these kind of non-psychedelic 5-HT2A agonists can have various useful applications.
A neurotransmitter prodrug, or neurotransmitter precursor, is a drug that acts as a prodrug of a neurotransmitter. A variety of neurotransmitter prodrugs have been developed and used in medicine. They can be useful when the neurotransmitter itself is not suitable for use as a pharmaceutical drug owing to unfavorable pharmacokinetic or physicochemical properties, for instance high susceptibility to metabolism, short elimination half-life, or lack of blood–brain barrier permeability. Besides their use in medicine, neurotransmitter prodrugs have also been used as recreational drugs in some cases.
GSK-598809 is a selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonist that is or was under development for the treatment of substance-related disorders, smoking withdrawal, and eating disorders like binge eating disorder.
A trip killer, or hallucinogen antidote, is a drug that aborts or reduces the effects of a hallucinogenic drug experience. As there are different types of hallucinogens that work in different ways, there are different types of trip killers. They can completely block or reduce the effects of hallucinogens or they can simply provide anxiety relief and sedation. Examples of trip killers, in the case of serotonergic psychedelics, include serotonin receptor antagonists, like antipsychotics and certain antidepressants, and benzodiazepines. Trip killers are sometimes used by recreational psychedelic users as a form of harm reduction to manage so-called bad trips, for instance difficult experiences with prominent anxiety. They can also be used clinically to manage effects of hallucinogens, like anxiety and psychomotor agitation, for instance in the emergency department.
The conditioned avoidance response (CAR) test, also known as the active avoidance test, is an animal test used to identify drugs with antipsychotic-like effects. It is most commonly employed as a two-way active avoidance test with rodents. The test assesses the conditioned ability of an animal to avoid an unpleasant stimulus. Drugs that selectively suppress conditioned avoidance responses without affecting escape behavior are considered to have antipsychotic-like activity. Variations of the test, like testing for enhancement of avoidance and escape responses, have also been used to assess other drug effects, like pro-motivational and antidepressant-like effects.
