Psychopharmacology (from
Greek ????,
ps?khe, "breath, life, soul";
wiktionaryf??µa???,
pharmakon, "drug"; and
-????a,
-logia) is the study of drug-induced changes in mood, sensation, thinking, and behavior.
[1]The field of psychopharmacology studies a wide range of substances with various types of psychoactive properties. The professional and commercial fields of pharmacology and psychopharmacology do not mainly focus on psychedelic or recreational drugs, as the majority of studies are conducted for the development, study, and use of drugs for the modification of behavior and the alleviation of symptoms, particularly in the treatment of mental disorders (psychiatric medication). While studies are conducted on all psychoactives by both fields, psychopharmacology focuses primarily on the psychoactive and chemical interactions with the brain.
The use of psychoactive drugs predates recorded history. Hunter-gatherer societies tended to favor hallucinogenic drugs, and today their use can still be observed in many surviving tribal cultures. The exact drug used depends on what the particular ecosystem a given tribe lives in can support, and are typically found growing wild. Such drugs include various hallucinogenic mushrooms and cacti, along with many other plants. These societies generally attach spiritual significance to such drug use, and often incorporate it into their religious practices.
The common muscimol-bearing mushroom Amanita muscaria, also known as the "Fly Agaric", is frequently regarded as one of the first used psychoactive drugs, it is suspected to be the primary or active ingredient in the sacred drug of ancient India, known as Soma.[2] There are many modern theories citing the discovery of its psychoactive properties as far back as 10,000 BCE.
