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Concept
Hallucinogen
Summary
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.
The word hallucinogen is derived from the word hallucination. The term hallucinate dates back to around 1595–1605, and is derived from the Latin hallūcinātus, the past participle of (h)allūcināri, meaning "to wander in the mind."
Leo Hollister gave five criteria for classifying a drug as hallucinogenic. This definition is broad enough to include a wide range of drugs and has since been shown to encompass a number of categories of drugs with different pharmacological mechanisms and behavioral effects. Richard Glennon has thus given an additional two criteria that narrow the category down to classical hallucinogens. Hollister's criteria for hallucinogens were as follows:
in proportion to other effects, changes in thought, perception, and mood should predominate;
intellectual or memory impairment should be minimal;
stupor, narcosis, or excessive stimulation should not be an integral effect;
autonomic nervous system side effects should be minimal; and
addictive craving should be absent.
Glennon's additional criteria for classical hallucinogens are that the drugs in question must also:
bind at 5-HT2 serotonin receptors; and
be recognized by animals trained to discriminate the drug DOM from vehicle.
Most hallucinogens can be categorized based on their pharmacological mechanisms as psychedelics (which are serotonergic), dissociatives (which are generally antiglutamatergic), or deliriants (which are generally anticholinergic). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of some hallucinogens, such as salvinorin A and ibogaine, do not fit into any of those categories. Entactogens and cannabinoids are also sometimes considered hallucinogens.
Official source
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