August 31st 2021 was the moment I read every neuroscience study on psychedelics ever published dating back to 2017.
This story would be entirely too hefty if I covered every study. Some of it isn’t that interesting, or it’s based on redundant topics you may already know.
The terminology for most of these studies are pretty intense, including words like fluorodeoxyglucose, arterial spin labeling, and intracerebroventricular injection.
Four General Themes Of Psychedelics
These themes can be applied to all studies from 2017 to 2021, and all 4 of these themes are active areas of research in an array of scientific fields.
Theme 1: Serotonin Activation
How serotonin implements its effects on these neurological and biological systems is still being actively studied.
The Synaptic Cleft
The synaptic cleft is where neurotransmitters and neuromodulators (along with other molecular compounds) go to do a bunch of things.
Serotonin And The Brain
All serotonin in your body comes from a single part of the brain, the dorsal raphe nucleus — a small area in the back part of your brainstem.
Theme 2: Dose Dependency
Psychedelics seem to work on a dose-dependence basis — the more you take, the stronger the subjective and neurobiological effects become.
This unique property of psychedelics seems to be governed by Fechner’s Law, which is a formula that determines the level of stimuli required for a person to feel a particular sensation.