PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES: HOW THEY WORK, TYPES AND EFFECTS - ARTE - 2025

The psychoactive substances are chemical compounds whose primary effect is to alter the functioning of the brain. This causes changes in some of your main functions, as well as in your mood, consciousness, behavior, perception or thoughts.

Psychoactive substances can be used for different purposes. For example, some medications fall into this category, such as antidepressants. On the other hand, they can also be used recreationally (as in the case of drugs), spiritually, or even for scientific research.

Most psychoactive substances cause changes in the experience of the person that are often considered pleasant or positive. For example, caffeine (one of the most common) generates a state of alert, while alcohol helps many individuals relax and disinhibit.

Because their effects can appear positive in the short term, a large number of psychoactive substances are susceptible to addiction. For this reason, many of the most powerful drugs are banned in most countries, as is the case with most drugs. Others, however, are used routinely in therapeutic or medicinal contexts, as is the case with anesthesia.

How do psychoactive substances act on the nervous system?

There are a lot of different psychoactive substances, and each one has a slightly different effect on the body of the people who use it. However, they are all based on the same principle: they alter the balance of the nervous system in some way, in such a way that they cause changes in the functioning of the brain and in consciousness.

Brain and spinal cord

Generally, there are two ways in which psychoactive substances can produce their effects.

• They enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter in the brain (either by mimicking it or increasing its presence in the body).
• They act as antagonists, reducing their effects on the nervous system.

For example, MDMA (also known as ecstasy) is a psychoactive substance whose main mechanism of action is the release of large amounts of serotonin in the brains of those who consume it.

MDMA molecule. Jynto, wikimedia commons

In this way, users experience a very pleasant sensation, since this neurotransmitter is responsible for producing a state of general well-being.

Other psychoactive substances, such as psilocybin (present for example in hallucinogenic mushrooms) alter the normal functioning of the brain for a few hours. As a consequence, those who consume this substance may experience hallucinations, have altered thought patterns and experience more intense moods than usual.

Psilocybin molecule, Lupine, wikimedia commons.

Types of psychoactive substances

There is no single classification of the different types of psychoactive substances that can be found. However, some classification systems have been created that are used on a regular basis.

The most important is the one that divides them into five different types: stimulants, depressants, opioids, hallucinogens, and cannabinoids. Next we will see what each of these groups consists of.

Stimulants

Cocaine is a stimulant drug

Stimulants are psychoactive substances whose effects include creating alertness, higher energy levels, improving mood (which can sometimes become euphoric) and causing bodily changes such as a higher level of heart rate and high blood pressure.

There are many different stimulants, some of them legal and with moderate effects, while others are prohibited due to their great risks. Some of the most common are caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine.

Depressants

The nervous system depressants are psychoactive substances that reduce anxiety, eliminate feelings of body tension, relax the muscles and cause a state of tranquility and calm. At the body level, they reduce the heart rate and blood pressure, and their abuse can lead to cardiac arrest.

The most common depressant of the nervous system is alcohol, although there are also more powerful ones such as benzodiazepines. The latter substance is used in some medications to treat anxiety, although it has the disadvantage that it is extremely addictive.

Opioids

Opioids are psychoactive substances derived from morphine, the main effects of which include elimination of pain, euphoria, extreme relaxation, confusion, and drowsiness. If opioids are abused, their most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, seizures, breathing difficulties, or even death.

These psychoactive substances are widely used in the medical field, and the most common include codeine and morphine. In the field of illegal drugs, heroin is possibly the best known of this group.

All opioids have the problem that they are highly addictive, and they can lead to their users death if they are consumed without due precautions.

Hallucinogens

LSD molecule. Source: Cacycle, wikimedia commons

Hallucinogens are a group of psychoactive substances whose main effects include the appearance of paranoia, depersonalization, erratic behavior, visual and auditory hallucinations, lack of control over one's thoughts and an increase in blood pressure and pulse.

In the long term, hallucinogens can cause problems with thinking and speaking clearly, memory loss, depression, and severe weight loss, although they generally do not have life-threatening consequences for their users. To date, its use in therapy contexts is being studied, although more tests are still needed to study its effects.

Among the most common hallucinogenic substances are psilocybin (present in hallucinogenic mushrooms), LSD, ketamine, salvia divinorum, mescaline (present in peyote) and ayahuasca.

Canabinoids

Marijuana

Cannabinoids are substances extracted from marijuana. In this group we only find its two main psychoactive components: THC and CBD. Among its effects we can mention changes in sensory perception, a feeling of euphoria and relaxation, changes in appetite, and difficulties in cognitive and motor tasks.

Effects edit

As we have already seen, psychoactive substances do not cause a single type of effect, but their consequences depend to a great extent on which of them is being consumed. However, in most cases its abuse can cause very serious consequences, which often includes death.

References

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