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Phencyclidine or phenylcyclohexyl piperidine (PCP), also known in its use as a street drug as angel dust among other names, is a dissociative anesthetic mainly used recreationally for its significant mind-altering effects. PCP may cause hallucinations, distorted perceptions of sounds, and violent behavior. As a recreational drug, it is typically smoked, but may be taken by mouth, snorted, or injected. It may also be mixed with cannabis or tobacco.
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes the correlation between drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system and changes in consciousness and behavior.
Substance intoxication is a transient condition of altered consciousness and behavior associated with recent use of a substance. It is often maladaptive and impairing, but reversible. If the symptoms are severe, the term "substance intoxication delirium" may be used. Slang terms for the state include: getting high (generic), and being stoned, cooked, or blazed.
Club drugs, also called rave drugs or party drugs, are a loosely defined category of recreational drugs which are associated with discothèques in the 1970s and nightclubs, dance clubs, electronic dance music (EDM) parties, and raves in the 1980s to today. Unlike many other categories, such as opiates and benzodiazepines, which are established according to pharmaceutical or chemical properties, club drugs are a "category of convenience", in which drugs are included due to the locations they are consumed and/or where the user goes while under the influence of the drugs. Club drugs are generally used by adolescents and young adults.
A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but the majority of them affect the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In spite of the fact that each sedative acts in its own way, most produce relaxing effects by increasing GABA activity.
Colloquially known as "downers", depressants or central depressants are drugs that lower neurotransmission levels, or depress or reduce arousal or stimulation in various areas of the brain. Depressants do not change the mood or mental state of others. Stimulants, or "uppers", increase mental or physical function, hence the opposite drug class from depressants are stimulants, not antidepressants.
Stimulant psychosis is a mental disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms. It involves and typically occurs following an overdose or several day 'binge' on psychostimulants; however, one study reported occurrences at regularly prescribed doses in approximately 0.1% of individuals within the first several weeks after starting amphetamine or methylphenidate therapy. Methamphetamine psychosis, or long-term effects of stimulant use in the brain, depend upon genetics and may persist for some time.
A toxidrome is a syndrome caused by a dangerous level of toxins in the body. It is often the consequence of a drug overdose. Common symptoms include dizziness, disorientation, nausea, vomiting and oscillopsia. It may indicate a medical emergency requiring treatment at a poison control center. Aside from poisoning, a systemic infection may also lead to one. Classic toxidromes are presented below, which are variable or obscured by co-ingestion of multiple drugs.
Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), dopamine being a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic brain pathways facilitate dopamine-related activity. For example, certain proteins such as the dopamine transporter (DAT), vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), and dopamine receptors can be classified as dopaminergic, and neurons that synthesize or contain dopamine and synapses with dopamine receptors in them may also be labeled as dopaminergic. Enzymes that regulate the biosynthesis or metabolism of dopamine such as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase or DOPA decarboxylase, monoamine oxidase (MAO), and catechol O-methyl transferase (COMT) may be referred to as dopaminergic as well. Also, any endogenous or exogenous chemical substance that acts to affect dopamine receptors or dopamine release through indirect actions (for example, on neurons that synapse onto neurons that release dopamine or express dopamine receptors) can also be said to have dopaminergic effects, two prominent examples being opioids, which enhance dopamine release indirectly in the reward pathways, and some substituted amphetamines, which enhance dopamine release directly by binding to and inhibiting VMAT2.
Emergency psychiatry is the clinical application of psychiatry in emergency settings. Conditions requiring psychiatric interventions may include attempted suicide, substance abuse, depression, psychosis, violence or other rapid changes in behavior.
A drug with psychotomimetic actions mimics the symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and/or delirium, as opposed to only hallucinations. Psychotomimesis is the onset of psychotic symptoms following the administration of such a drug.
NMDA receptor antagonists are a class of drugs that work to antagonize, or inhibit the action of, the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). They are commonly used as anesthetics for human and non-human animals; the state of anesthesia they induce is referred to as dissociative anesthesia.
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.
Substance-induced psychosis is a form of psychosis that is attributed to substance intoxication. It is a psychosis that results from the effects of chemicals or drugs. Various psychoactive substances have been implicated in causing or worsening psychosis in users.
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent, or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance that changes the function of the nervous system and results in alterations of perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. These substances may be used medically, recreationally, for spiritual reasons, or for research. Some categories of psychoactive drugs may be prescribed by physicians and other healthcare practitioners because of their therapeutic value.
The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) is a committee within the World Health Organization (WHO) that consists of a chosen group of independent experts within the field of pharmacology. This committee meets once a year in order to evaluate the effects of psychotic substances towards the public and the properties that cause the addictions, and considering the possible medical or therapeutic benefits and applications.
References
- ↑ Bolton, Derek (2008). What is mental disorder? an essay in philosophy, science, and values. International perspectives in philosophy and psychiatry. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-856592-5. OCLC 174094316.
- ↑ American Psychiatric Association, ed. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 978-0890425756.
- ↑ "International Classification of Diseases (ICD)". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Sachdev, Perminder S.; Blacker, Deborah; Blazer, Dan G.; Ganguli, Mary; Jeste, Dilip V.; Paulsen, Jane S.; Petersen, Ronald C. (November 2014). "Classifying neurocognitive disorders: the DSM-5 approach". Nature Reviews Neurology. 10 (11): 634–642. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2014.181. ISSN 1759-4758.
