Definition
Classic psychedelics are a class of psychoactive drugs that reliably produce dramatic changes in consciousness, with alterations in perception, thought, and feeling rarely experienced outside of dreams or religious/spiritual ecstasy. At the neurobiological level, classical psychedelics primarily exert their effects through agonistic activity at 5-HT2Areceptors and appear to disrupt typical patterns of brain connectivity, causing more disorganized or “entropic” brain activity. Acute effects of psychedelics can involve hallucinations, ego dissolution, and a feeling of unity with the universe. “Complete mystical experiences” are also possible and are characterized by a feeling of unity with the cosmos, transcendence of time and space, loss of self, a sense of awe and revelation, and a profound positive mood. Days to weeks after a...
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Elsey, J.W.B., Vossoughi, L. (2019). Psychedelic Drugs and Personality. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2306-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2306-1
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