Ion Channels Affected by LSD

Ion Channels Affected by LSD

Research with LSD has been very limited by two major factors:

lack of human subjects and laws against it as a controlled

substance. These deterrents have caused a big hole in what can

be discovered about this hallucinogen at the ion channels it

affects and in turn those effects on inhibitory and excitatory

potentials of the cell.

It was difficult to obtain clear explanations about exactly what

was going on at the neuron level. Later it was discovered that

most experiments were carried out on rodents. This may not sound

like it is such a bad thing because human subjects were not

being put in positions where their health could be affected by

the drug, but in fact there is a slight difference in rodent and

human brains. LSD affects a serotonergic receptor type 2A (5-

HT2A), which is different in rats to humans in its structure and

activity, and behavior "may not strictly parallel those in

humans" (Nichols, 2004). This could cause researches to get

different results in what they would see in experimental rats

and to what may actually be happening in humans.

Another deterrent that has somewhat slowed down the process of

understanding LSD at the neuron level is the law. LSD is

scheduled as a controlled substance; Schedule I, to be exact,

which means that it is illegal to posses, sell, or buy without a

DEA license. You can imagine what would happen if a researcher

was caught with a substantial amount of LSD, and possibly the

difficulty in obtaining a license that will allow someone to

posses a powerful illegal substance. These things are exactly

what will repel researchers from using such a substance.

The only almost certain aspect of LSD is that it has a similar

chemical composition as serotonin (5-HT) and will especially act

on 5-HT2 receptors. However, LSD is the only known hallucinogen

to bind to dopamine receptors. It will activate postsynaptic

dopamine receptors if the dose is high enough to do so. LSD also

binds to alpha-adrenergic and beta-adrenergic receptors that are

involved sympathetic nervous system control of smooth muscles.

It is also a competitive antagonist at histamine receptors and

will produce inhibitory messages. LSD also acts mysteriously on

the visual cortex. At low doses, LSD will stimulate the visual

cortex and higher doses will inhibit this area.

LSD research has flipped it from being an antagonist to an