Effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the human heart

Joachim Neumann; Stefan Dhein; Uwe Kirchhefer; Britt Hofmann; Ulrich Gergs

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1334218

Effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the human heart

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 2:15:1334218. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1334218. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Joachim Neumann¹, Stefan Dhein², Uwe Kirchhefer³, Britt Hofmann¹, Ulrich Gergs¹

Affiliations

¹ Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
² Rudolf-Boehm Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
³ Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Universität Münster, Münster, Germany.

Abstract

Hallucinogenic drugs are used because they have effects on the central nervous system. Their hallucinogenic effects probably occur via stimulation of serotonin receptors, namely, 5-HT_2A-serotonin receptors in the brain. However, a close study reveals that they also act on the heart, possibly increasing the force of contraction and beating rate and may lead to arrhythmias. Here, we will review the inotropic and chronotropic actions of bufotenin, psilocin, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ergotamine, ergometrine, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine in the human heart.

Keywords: LSD; N,N-dimethyltryptamine; bufotenin; ergometrine; ergotamine; psilocin; psilocybin.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German research foundation) with grant number 510383218.