Altered states: psychedelics and anesthetics.
The psychedelic experience has been reported since antiquity, but there is relatively little known about the underlying neural mechanisms. A recent neuroimaging study on psilocybin revealed a pattern of decreased cerebral blood flow and functional disconnections that is surprisingly similar to that caused by various anesthetics. In this article, the authors review historical examples of psychedelic experiences induced by general anesthetics and then contrast the mechanisms by which these two drug classes generate altered states of consciousness.
* Resident, † Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Neurosurgery, Department of Anesthesiology; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Eduardo E
EE
Icaza
George A
GA
Mashour
D000777:Anesthetics / Q000266:history / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology*; D018682:GABA Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000266:history / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D011562:Psilocybin / Q000494:pharmacology
D000777:Anesthetics; D018682:GABA Agents; D006213:Hallucinogens; D011562:Psilocybin