Rachel
I researched LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), a hallucinogenic drug first isolated in 1938 from the ergot fungus by Albert Hoffman. I wanted to look at the reactions to the drug (both physical and mental) in the body and why they occur. Some of the immediate effects of using LSD include dilation of the pupils, increased reflex speed, piloerection, increased heart rate and blood pressure, symptoms that are associated with panic and stress response.
Acid also makes the user remember and recreate emotionally dangerous situations which leads to feelings of fear, panic and loneliness. Other notable effects are parenthesia which is a strange combination of feelings on the skin as well as synthesia which is where one sense is translated into another. The long term effects are pretty much typical of any drug use, such as anxiety, depression and ìamotivational syndrome. Also, it has been shown to cause changes in the brain wave patterns as well as affecting chromosomes, fertility and pregnancies. LSD can also produce flashbacks. Emotional flashbacks bring back panic, fear and loneliness. Somatic flashbacks have altered bodily sensations like shaking or dizziness and the most common type, perceptual, involves distortion of the senses. Flashbacks typically occur after chronic use, but could occur after a single bad trip and their cause is not entirely known. LSD is a crystalline molecule which is very similar in structure to serotonin, a neurotransmitter which is a calming agent that stops the brain from communicating with the sympathetic nervous system, a system located outside of the brain and the spinal cord which is only used in emergency situations. LSD takes the place of serotonin at receptor sites and sets the brain into emergency mode. Also, serotonin is responsible for translating the senses and so when LSD is in place, the information sent to the brain doesnít make sense. This results in hallucinations. Lysergic acid diethylamide was first developed as a pain reliever, but since 1968 has been classified as an illegal drug. It is a potent drug which produces strong effects on the brain as well as the body.
