A drug with psychotomimetic actions mimics the symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and/or hallucinations. Some drugs of the opioid class have psychotomimetic effects such as pentazocine and butorphanol.[1]
Carl Sagan also used the word psychotomimetic in his anonymous article "Mr.X" to describe the effects of the drug marijuana.
Psychotomimetic drugs (also referred to as psychedelic or hallucinogenic drugs) affect thought, perception and mood, without causing marked psychomotor stimulation or depression. Thoughts and understanding of the surroundings and self tend to become dreamlike and distorted, rather than being merely sharpened or dulled and the changes are more complex than a mere shift towards depression or euphoria. The categorization of these drugs is complex and it is often hard to draw a line between the effects of depressants (e.g. opioids, ethanol), stimulants (e.g. cocaine and amphetamine)and those of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), phencyclidine or cannabis. The main difference between psychotomimetics and other drugs that can cause similar effects is considered to be the indirect peripheral action of psychotomimetics. Sweating, tachycardia, hyperthermia, sleepiness and euphoria are mainly produced indirectly and can vary greatly among the subjects, rather than directly by the action of the drug as is the case with alcohol and amphetamine. The main two groups of sympatomimetic drugs are as follows:
- Drugs that resemble known neurotransmitters and mimic, antagonize or reverse some of their effects. These include LSD and psilocybine, which resemble 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT a.k.a. serotonin). MDMA (ecstacy) and mescaline are related to amphetamine and resemble noradrenaline.
- Drugs that are unrelated to known neurotransmitters e.g. phencyclidine and ketamine.[2]
See also
- Hallucinogen
- Opioid
- Psychedelic
- Psychotherapy
- LSD
- Psilocybine
- Ketamine
- Phencyclidine
- Mescaline
- MDMA
- Serotonin
- Neurotransmitter
References
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