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Concept
Deliriant
Summary
Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics and dissociatives such as LSD and ketamine, respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid and less disturbed states produced by other types of hallucinogens. The term generally refers to anticholinergic drugs, which are substances that inhibit the function of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Common examples of deliriants include plants of the genera Datura and Brugmansia (both containing scopolamine) as well as higher than recommended dosages of diphenhydramine (Benadryl). A number of plant deliriants such as that of the Solanaceae family, particularly in the Americas have been used by some indigenous cultures to reach delirious and altered states for traditions or rituals, such as rites of passage, divination or communicating with the ancestors. Despite their long history of use, deliriants are the least-studied class of hallucinogens in terms of their behavioral and neurological effects.
The term was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S. Gold due to a characteristic delirium-like effect which is known to manifest as a reoccurring symptom for anticholinergic hallucinogens. The term deliriant originates from delirium (dēlīrĭum) which comes from the Latin verb delirare, which means 'to go off the furrow', 'to derail'. liria (furrow) - The earth thrown up between two furrows, a ridge. ex, e - out of, from. delirio - frenzy, madness, deranged. It is said to be a figurative reference to going off or out of the furrow when ploughing (agricultural) so as to be analogous to the mental aberration that is delirium.
The altered state of consciousness produced by common or ‘classical’ deliriant substances such as scopolamine, atropine and diphenhydramine is primarily mediated through the drug compounds’ competitive antagonism of the peripheral and central muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Particularly the M1 muscarinic receptor.
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