Deck 14: Hallucinogens, PCP, and Ketamine

Question 1

Which of the following is not a hallucinogenic drug?

A) Mescaline
B) LSD
C) 5-HT
D) DMT

Answer 1

5-HT

Question 2

Which statement about hallucinogenic mushrooms is false?

A) They produce mescaline.
B) They were used by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations in religious rituals.
C) They gave Timothy Leary a start on his journey toward self-discovery with hallucinogenic drugs.
D) They were often consumed in ceremonies led by shamans.

Answer 2

They produce mescaline.

Question 3

The Harvard Psychedelic Drug Research Program

A) was a program that studied the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on animals.
B) was a complete failure due to the complete lack of control in the studies, causing Leary and Alpert to shut down the program and pursue other research.
C) was designed to help people self-administer hallucinogenic drugs in order to free their psyches.
D) eventually closed when Leary and Alpert were fired from their jobs as heads of the program, marking an end to the psychedelic movement.

Answer 3

was designed to help people self-administer hallucinogenic drugs in order to free their psyches.

Question 4

MK-ULTRA was a

A) top secret program to control drug use and traffic.
B) CIA program designed to evaluate LSD as a mind control agent.
C) CIA program to record the drug-taking habits of world leaders.
D) CIA program to control the drug development agencies.

Question 5

Which event does not occur during the plateau or peak of the LSD "trip"?

A) Experiences of bizarre and sometimes frightening images
B) Crossing-over of sensations
C) Intensification of the sense of touch
D) Time sense distortion

Question 6

Why is it not possible to predict whether a user of hallucinogens will have a "good trip" or a "bad trip"?

A) The drug effects depend very much on the user's expectations and past experiences with hallucinogens.
B) The hallucinogens as a class are very unpredictable and unstable molecules in their effects on the human nervous system.
C) The hallucinogens have received virtually no clinical study in humans due to the heavy government restrictions on their use.
D) The physiological side effects of the hallucinogens are so dramatic that they make the "good" and "bad" effects difficult to sort out.

Question 7

EEG studies have indicated that hallucinogenic drugs can cause an alteration in rhythmic oscillations in pyramidal cells located in the

A) cerebral cortex.
B) cerebellum.
C) amygdala.
D) locus coeruleus.

Question 8

Which statement about flashbacks is false?

A) Scientists do not yet understand the neural mechanism responsible for them.
B) They very commonly develop into a more serious and chronic condition called HPPD.
C) They occasionally occur following marijuana use.
D) They can appear a long time after the drug use during which the hallucinations first occurred.

Question 9

At moderate PCP or ketamine doses, individuals experience which phenomena?

A) Flashbacks
B) Dissociative anesthesia
C) HPPD
D) Synesthesia

Question 10

When individuals are in the ketamine-induced dissociated state, they report all of the following except

A) feeling "at one" with the universe.
B) the sense that time is moving at high speed.
C) "near-death" experiences.
D) visions of spiritual or supernatural beings.

Question 11

Many of deficits produced by PCP and ketamine can be explained by the action of these drugs on receptors located in the

A) basal ganglia and substantia nigra.
B) cerebral cortex and hippocampus.
C) amygdala and hypothalamus.
D) pons and midbrain.

Question 12

Which statement about the use and abuse of ketamine is false?

A) Ketamine's popularity can be explained by the fact that the drug does not cause dependence.
B) Many abusers of ketamine are medical or veterinary practitioners.
C) A number of intellectuals experimented with ketamine as a mind-expanding drug, similar to LSD.
D) Ketamine's use is difficult to track, but is increasing at popular events such as raves.

Question 13

Research has shown that human subjects receiving high doses of ketamine develop symptoms of

A) anxiety.
B) depression.
C) schizophrenia.
D) Parkinson's disease.

Question 14

Studies involving chronic PCP or ketamine administration to nonhuman primates and rodents have demonstrated all of the following neurobiological changes except

A) increased NMDA receptor binding in the prefrontal cortex.
B) a reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the prefrontal cortex.
C) apoptotic cell death in the developing brain.
D) a reduction in glutamatergic synapses in the prefrontal cortex.

Question 15

Which statement about dextromethorphan is false?

A) It is an antitussive agent.
B) It is a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist.
C) It is abused on the street as "Robo" or "DM."
D) It affects opiate receptors directly, like codeine.

Question 16

Which statement about dextromethorphan abuse is false?

A) It generally involves consuming large amounts of cough syrup or many cold tablets.
B) It has generated street sources of dextromethorphan that are repackaged as pills or powder for smoking.
C) It often occurs in adolescents and younger children.
D) While potentially troubling, it can't really be dangerous since the drug is available over the counter.

Question 17

Describe the typical stages of an LSD "trip," including onset and duration. How is DMT different from LSD in terms of time course of action?