Euphoriant
Encyclopedia
A euphoriant is a type of psychoactive drug
which tends to induce feelings of euphoria
, the effects of which may include relaxation
, anxiolysis, stress relief
, mood lift
, pleasure
, and a rush
although these effects are not necessary for a drug to be a euphoriant. Many euphoriants are notorious for their problems with abuse
, addiction, and dependence. These agents are thought to induce their reinforcing effects by activating the so-called pleasure center
s of the brain
such as the nucleus accumbens
, olfactory tubercle
, and ventral tegmental area.
There are two major classes of euphoriants:
The aforementioned two classes of drugs are the only that are intrinsically euphoric - mind-set and setting independent - euphoriants due to their dopaminergic
actions at the nucleus accumbens shell
. They are pharmacologically
euphorigenic; the outcome and effects of using them does not depend on the personality, mind-set, or setting of the user.
Other drugs can be euphoriants, dependent on the personality, mind-set, and setting of the person using them. Some classes of these drugs are:
The effects of hallucinogens can be euphoric in some people, in some situations, but typically are mood-neutral (cf. bad trip
), generally amplifying the emotions of the user. Whereas an opioid will still be euphoric in a depressed person, or a depressant an anxiolytic in an anxious person, a hallucinogenic drug will usually increase the intensity of the depression, or increase the sharpness of anxiety by orders of magnitude (hallucinogens are anxiogenic even in non-anxious individuals). Hallucinogens will, likewise, increase the intensity of mild happiness or euphoria exponentially. The effects of hallucinogens are drastically different in different people, and even in the same person on two different occasions, especially with a different mind-set or in different situations
. Having a good mindset and physical setting
are absolutely necessary to have a good experience using a hallucinogen. Mentally ill people, especially people with schizophrenia or anxiety disorders, usually have a negative reaction to hallucinogens. People with a family history of mental illness have a higher than normal chance of adverse reaction.
Many euphoriants have a "mixed mechanism of action", which is to say they don't categorize neatly in to one of the above groups, or affect more than one system of receptors or neurotransmitters. Some drugs have a predominant mechanism of action at certain doses, and another mechanism of action becomes predominant at higher doses. Some drugs have a mixed mechanism of action at all doses, and some drugs have vastly different mechanisms of action depending on the stereoisomer used.
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
which tends to induce feelings of euphoria
Euphoria (emotion)
Euphoria is medically recognized as a mental and emotional condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of well-being, elation, happiness, ecstasy, excitement and joy...
, the effects of which may include relaxation
Relaxation (psychology)
In psychology, relaxation is the emotional state of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal that could come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear. Relaxation is a form of mild ecstasy coming from the frontal lobe of the brain in which the backward cortex sends signals, or...
, anxiolysis, stress relief
Stress Relief
"Stress Relief" is a two-part episode of the American comedy television series The Office. They constituted the fourteenth and fifteenth episode of the fifth season, and the 86th and 87th overall episodes of the series...
, mood lift
Happiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
, pleasure
Pleasure
Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria...
, and a rush
Rush (psychology)
In psychology, a rush is an acute transcendent state of euphoria. Psychoactive drugs which enhance dopaminergic neurotransmission in the central nervous system are commonly capable of such an event....
although these effects are not necessary for a drug to be a euphoriant. Many euphoriants are notorious for their problems with abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, addiction, and dependence. These agents are thought to induce their reinforcing effects by activating the so-called pleasure center
Pleasure center
Pleasure center is the general term used for the brain regions involved in pleasure. Discoveries made in the 1950s initially suggested that rodents could not stop electrically stimulating parts of their brain, mainly the nucleus accumbens, which was theorized to produce great pleasure...
s of the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
such as the nucleus accumbens
Nucleus accumbens
The nucleus accumbens , also known as the accumbens nucleus or as the nucleus accumbens septi , is a collection of neurons and forms the main part of the ventral striatum...
, olfactory tubercle
Olfactory tubercle
The olfactory tubercle is a structure involved in Olfaction.It is present in humans, but much smaller than it is in some other animals.It is a frequent subject of research.-External links:...
, and ventral tegmental area.
There are two major classes of euphoriants:
- StimulantStimulantStimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
s - dopamineDopamineDopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
and sometimes norepinephrineNorepinephrineNorepinephrine is the US name for noradrenaline , a catecholamine with multiple roles including as a hormone and a neurotransmitter...
reuptake inhibitors or releasing agents - drugs such as amphetamineAmphetamineAmphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
and methamphetamineMethamphetamineMethamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
(releasing agents) and cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and methylphenidateMethylphenidateMethylphenidate is a psychostimulant drug approved for treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and narcolepsy. It may also be prescribed for off-label use in treatment-resistant cases of lethargy, depression, neural insult and obesity...
(reuptake inhibitors). NicotineNicotineNicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...
is a stimulant with a unique mechanism of action, affecting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous systemCentral nervous systemThe central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
. TobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, the plant from which nicotine is derived (and usually consumed whole, except in the case of nicotine replacement therapyNicotine replacement therapyNicotine replacement therapy is the remedial administration of nicotine to the body by means other than tobacco, usually as part of smoking cessation. Common forms of nicotine replacement therapy are nicotine patches and nicotine gum...
) offers additional and synergistic stimulant effects when smoked, containing substances that inhibit the monoamine oxidaseMonoamine oxidaseL-Monoamine oxidases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines. They are found bound to the outer membrane of mitochondria in most cell types in the body. The enzyme was originally discovered by Mary Bernheim in the liver and was named tyramine oxidase...
s, primarily MAO-B, thus raising concentrations of all catecholamines in the brain.
- OpiateOpiateIn medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
s/OpioidOpioidAn opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...
s - µ-opioid receptor agonistAgonistAn agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor of a cell and triggers a response by that cell. Agonists often mimic the action of a naturally occurring substance...
s - drugs such as heroin, morphineMorphineMorphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, fentanyl, oxycodoneOxycodoneOxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine , and codeine.Oxycodone oral medications are generally...
, buprenorphineBuprenorphineBuprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid that is used...
, methadoneMethadoneMethadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
, and pethidinePethidinePethidine or meperidine Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) (commonly referred to as Demerol but also referred to as: isonipecaine; lidol; pethanol; piridosal; Algil; Alodan; Centralgin; Dispadol; Dolantin; Mialgin (in Indonesia); Petidin Dolargan (in Poland);...
.
The aforementioned two classes of drugs are the only that are intrinsically euphoric - mind-set and setting independent - euphoriants due to their dopaminergic
Dopaminergic
Dopaminergic means related to the neurotransmitter dopamine. For example, certain proteins such as the dopamine transporter , vesicular monoamine transporter 2 , and dopamine receptors can be classified as dopaminergic, and neurons which synthesize or contain dopamine and synapses with dopamine...
actions at the nucleus accumbens shell
Nucleus Accumbens Shell
The nucleus accumbens shell is a structure that, together with the nucleus accumbens core, makes up the entire nucleus accumbens. The nucleus accumbens is an important area of the brain related to motor function, reward, and emotionality....
. They are pharmacologically
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
euphorigenic; the outcome and effects of using them does not depend on the personality, mind-set, or setting of the user.
Other drugs can be euphoriants, dependent on the personality, mind-set, and setting of the person using them. Some classes of these drugs are:
- DepressantDepressantA depressant, or central depressant, is a drug or endogenous compound that depresses the function or activity of a specific part of the brain...
s, such as alcoholAlcoholic beverageAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
, GHBGHBGHB may refer to:*gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, a neuroprotective and depressant drug that is illegal in a number of countries*glycated hemoglobin, a form of hemoglobin created during its exposure to high plasma levels of glucose...
, benzodiazepineBenzodiazepineA benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring...
s, barbiturateBarbiturateBarbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
s, and z-drugZ-drugZ-drugs are a group of nonbenzodiazepine drugs with effects similar to benzodiazepines which are used in the treatment of insomnia, and whose names mostly start with the letter "Z". Some Z drugs may have advantages over benzodiazepines...
s, which are euphoric in people suffering from anxiety, as the anxiolysis produced by such drugs is interpreted as euphoria by an anxious person, and:
- Hallucinogens, a blanket term encompassing three sub-classes of drugs:
- Dissociatives - typically NMDANMDAN-Methyl-D-aspartic acid or N-Methyl-D-aspartate is an amino acid derivative which acts as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor mimicking the action of glutamate, the neurotransmitter which normally acts at that receptor...
-antagonists like ketamineKetamineKetamine is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine. Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Ketanest, Ketaset, and Ketalar. Pharmacologically, ketamine is classified as an NMDA receptor antagonist...
, dextromethorphanDextromethorphanDextromethorphan is an antitussive drug. It is one of the active ingredients in many over-the-counter cold and cough medicines, such as Robitussin, NyQuil, Dimetapp, Vicks, Coricidin, Delsym, and others, including generic labels. Dextromethorphan has also found other uses in medicine, ranging...
, and phencyclidinePhencyclidinePhencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...
, along with nitrous oxideNitrous oxideNitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
, which has a novel mechanism of action. - DeliriantDeliriantThe deliriants are a special class of acetylcholine-inhibitor hallucinogen. The term was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S...
s - This class is primarily represented by anticholinergic drugs, of which first-generation anti-histamines are prototypical. Others include orphenadrineOrphenadrineOrphenadrine is an anticholinergic drug of the ethanolamine antihistamine class with prominent CNS and peripheral actions used to treat painful muscle spasms, other similar conditions, as well as the treatment...
, scopolamineScopolamineScopolamine, also known as levo-duboisine, and hyoscine, is a tropane alkaloid drug with muscarinic antagonist effects. It is among the secondary metabolites of plants from Solanaceae family of plants, such as henbane, jimson weed and Angel's Trumpets , and corkwood...
, diphenhydramineDiphenhydramineDiphenhydramine hydrochloride is a first-generation antihistamine possessing anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, and sedative properties which is mainly used to treat allergies. Like most other first-generation antihistamines, the drug also has a powerful hypnotic effect, and for this reason...
, and atropineAtropineAtropine is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid extracted from deadly nightshade , Jimson weed , mandrake and other plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a secondary metabolite of these plants and serves as a drug with a wide variety of effects...
. These drugs tend to be very dysphoric, and are rarely euphoric, as a matter of pharmacological action. They have an extremely narrow therapeutic ratio when used to induce hallucinations, as a hallucinatory dose of a deliriant is a mildly sub-lethal overdose. - PsychedelicsPsychedelic drugA psychedelic substance is a psychoactive drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception. Psychedelics are part of a wider class of psychoactive drugs known as hallucinogens, a class that also includes related substances such as dissociatives and deliriants...
- typically 5-HT2A5-HT2A receptorThe mammalian 5-HT2A receptor is a subtype of the 5-HT2 receptor that belongs to the serotonin receptor family and is a G protein-coupled receptor . This is the main excitatory receptor subtype among the GPCRs for serotonin , although 5-HT2A may also have an inhibitory effect on certain areas such...
agonists like LSD, psilocybinPsilocybinPsilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
, and mescalineMescalineMescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
, or cannabinoid receptor agonists such as THCTetrahydrocannabinolTetrahydrocannabinol , also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , Δ1-THC , or dronabinol, is the main chemical psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated in 1964. In pure form, it is a glassy solid when cold, and becomes viscous and sticky if warmed...
and JWH-018JWH-018JWH-018 or AM-678 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2...
.
- Dissociatives - typically NMDA
The effects of hallucinogens can be euphoric in some people, in some situations, but typically are mood-neutral (cf. bad trip
Bad trip
Bad trip is a disturbing experience sometimes associated with use of a psychedelic drug such as LSD, Salvinorin A, DXM, mescaline, psilocybin, DMT and sometimes even other drugs including cannabis, alcohol and MDMA....
), generally amplifying the emotions of the user. Whereas an opioid will still be euphoric in a depressed person, or a depressant an anxiolytic in an anxious person, a hallucinogenic drug will usually increase the intensity of the depression, or increase the sharpness of anxiety by orders of magnitude (hallucinogens are anxiogenic even in non-anxious individuals). Hallucinogens will, likewise, increase the intensity of mild happiness or euphoria exponentially. The effects of hallucinogens are drastically different in different people, and even in the same person on two different occasions, especially with a different mind-set or in different situations
Set and setting
Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience. This is especially relevant for psychedelic or hallucinogenic experiences...
. Having a good mindset and physical setting
Set and setting
Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience. This is especially relevant for psychedelic or hallucinogenic experiences...
are absolutely necessary to have a good experience using a hallucinogen. Mentally ill people, especially people with schizophrenia or anxiety disorders, usually have a negative reaction to hallucinogens. People with a family history of mental illness have a higher than normal chance of adverse reaction.
- "Mixed Mechanism of Action"Mechanism of actionIn pharmacology, the term mechanism of action refers to the specific biochemical interaction through which a drug substance produces its pharmacological effect...
Many euphoriants have a "mixed mechanism of action", which is to say they don't categorize neatly in to one of the above groups, or affect more than one system of receptors or neurotransmitters. Some drugs have a predominant mechanism of action at certain doses, and another mechanism of action becomes predominant at higher doses. Some drugs have a mixed mechanism of action at all doses, and some drugs have vastly different mechanisms of action depending on the stereoisomer used.
-
- CocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
has a tendency to induce psychosis and seizures in high doses, likely linked to its agonism of the sigma receptorSigma receptorThe sigma receptors σ1 and σ2 bind to ligands such as 4-PPBP, SA 4503, ditolylguanidine, dimethyltryptamine and siramesine.- Classification :...
, which is minor with moderate dosage. - TramadolTramadolTramadol hydrochloride is a centrally acting synthetic opioid analgesic used in treating moderate pain. The drug has a wide range of applications, including treatment for restless legs syndrome and fibromyalgia...
, a weak mu-opioid agonist, serotonin releasing agent, and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. - MethadoneMethadoneMethadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
, being a potent mu-opioid agonist in lævo-rotatory form and NMDA-antagonist in dextro-rotatory form. The only commercially available preparations are the racemate, so the drug has, in effect, a mixed mechanism of action, even though one specific stereoisomer of the drug is responsible for each unique pharmacological action. Its effects are mostly that of an opioid, with some dissociative effects from NMDA-antagonism based on the dosage. - MethorphanMethorphanMethorphan comes in two isomeric forms, each with differing pharmacology and effects:* Dextromethorphan - An over-the-counter cough suppressant, as well as dissociative hallucinogen....
is another similar example - dextromethorphanDextromethorphanDextromethorphan is an antitussive drug. It is one of the active ingredients in many over-the-counter cold and cough medicines, such as Robitussin, NyQuil, Dimetapp, Vicks, Coricidin, Delsym, and others, including generic labels. Dextromethorphan has also found other uses in medicine, ranging...
, used in over-the-counter cough preparations, is a dissociative NMDA-antagonist in high dosages, with a degree of sigma-receptor agonism, increasing with dosage. LevomethorphanLevomethorphanLevomethorphan is the l-stereoisomer of methorphan. The effects of the two isomers are quite different. Dextromethorphan is an antitussive at low doses and a dissociative at much higher doses, whereas levomethorphan is an opioid analgesic...
is a potent mu-opioid analgesic. The racemate - methorphan - has a spectrum of effects based on its mechanisms of action. - PentazocinePentazocinePentazocine is a synthetically prepared prototypical mixed agonist-antagonist narcotic drug of the benzomorphan class of opioids used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain...
is a mixed-opioid receptor agonist, and sigma receptorSigma receptorThe sigma receptors σ1 and σ2 bind to ligands such as 4-PPBP, SA 4503, ditolylguanidine, dimethyltryptamine and siramesine.- Classification :...
agonist. In low doses, it causes effects similar to that of low-dose morphineMorphineMorphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
- in higher doses, dissociation, hallucinations, and delirium are common, as the effects upon kappa opioid receptorKappa Opioid receptorThe κ-opioid receptor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the OPRK1 gene. The κ-opioid receptor is one of five related receptors that bind opium-like compounds in the brain and are responsible for mediating the effects of these compounds...
s and the sigma receptor become more prominent. - DimethyltryptamineDimethyltryptamineN,N-Dimethyltryptamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. DMT is found in several plants, and also in trace amounts in humans and other mammals, where it is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan, and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT...
(DMT), a naturally-occurring hallucinogen produced by many plants and found in trace amounts in the mammalian brain, has effects on both the serotonin receptors and the sigma receptor, causing a combination of psychedelicPsychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
and dissociative effects.
- Cocaine