If acid (LSD) is a catalyst between two chemicals alreayd in the body...

[gypsymoth3]

what are these two chemicals? what do they o naturally? according to www.dictionary.com, a catalyst speeds up reactions between 2 chemicals without being “burnt up” itself; so what ends the trip? how long does the body take to replace these chemicals after they’re used up unnaturally fast? if it takes longer than usual, what side-effects result from their absence?

[gypsymoth3]

sorry i posted a double thread. i still don’t know how that happens. i must have nerve problems i don’t know about.

one more question while we’re on the subject of acid… does it really make blood drip on the spine? if so, how/why? and i’m assuming this is blood from the brain?

[Squink]

LSD binds to and activates serotonin receptors. Here’s a cite:

LSD binds to and activates a specific receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. Normally, serotonin binds to and activates its receptors and then is taken back up into the neuron that released it. In contrast, LSD binds very tightly to the serotonin receptor, causing a greater than normal activation of the receptor. Because serotonin has a role in many of the brain’s functions, activation of its receptors by LSD produces widespread effects, including rapid emotional swings, and altered perceptions, and if taken in a large enough dose, delusions and visual hallucinations.

LSD is not a catalyst. It’s a tight-bonding agonist. Receptor binding and activation is usually considered more of a physical process than a chemical reaction, so the term catalyst is not rightly applied to the process.
The story about “blood dripping onto the spine” probably comes about as a mangling of the fact that serotonin, in addition to being a neurotransmitter, is an important vasoconstrictor in mammaliqn blood. The leap from there to the “more powerful” LSD making blood drip onto your spine is pure fancy.

[Shagnasty]

I don’t think that catalyst is the right word to use here. When talking about drug actions in neuroscience, the most applicable terms are “agonist” and “antagonist”.

An agonist binds to the same brain receptors that a natural neurotransmitter would but it may do so at a different affinity (it may be much more powerful than the natural neurotransmitter).

An antagonist blocks a receptor so that natural neurotransmitters and even other drugs cannot bind to the receptor that they try to bind to.

That is the short explanation. This stuff gets really complicated, really fast.

The exact mechanism of LSD is unknown. It is believed to be an agonist to seretonin (a neurotransmitter) and possibly dopamine (another one) somewhere in the brain but the details are still sketchy at best.

Other details may be forthcoming but try to understand this part before more details are given.

[Shagnasty]

Oh, good! A neuroscience correction simil-post!

[gypsymoth3]

i was assuming acid was a catalyst based on a post by Ellis Dee in the hallucinations thread that said

As far as how much LSD is scary to take, it is a catalyst for chemicals already present in the brain. Therefore, you cannot physically overdose - eventually there is no more chemical to catalyze (sp?). I’m not sure how much will give you the maximum effect, but when I took 10 it seemed only mildly stronger than when I took 4, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the fact that someone took 8, or 10, or whatever number it may be.

but i guess it’s just one of the many myths about acid.