science

List of psychoactive drugs

List of psychoactive drugs is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of psychoactive drugs rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of psychoactive drugs, or drugs that produce psychoactive effects. Psychoactive drugs can be broadly grouped into stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens and entactogens, although not all psychoactive drugs fall neatly into these categories.

Key takeaways

List of psychoactive drugs belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of psychoactive drugs to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of psychoactive drugs from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a list of psychoactive drugs, or drugs that produce psychoactive effects. Psychoactive drugs can be broadly grouped into stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens and entactogens, although not all psychoactive drugs fall neatly into these categories. Many psychoactive drugs are recreational drugs or drugs of misuse, with these drugs generally falling into the categories of euphoriants and hallucinogens.

Stimulants

Adenosine receptor antagonists (e.g., caffeine, theophylline, theobromine, paraxanthine, istradefylline) Catecholamine releasing agents (e.g., amphetamine, methamphetamine, lisdexamfetamine, MDMA, mephedrone, cathinone, ephedrine) Catecholamine reuptake inhibitors (e.g., methylphenidate, MDPV, cocaine, modafinil, bupropion, atomoxetine) GABAA receptor antagonists (e.g., pentylenetetrazol) Glycine receptor antagonists (e.g., strychnine) Histamine H3 receptor antagonists (e.g., pitolisant) Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists (e.g., arecoline) Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists (e.g., nicotine) Orexin receptor agonists (e.g., danavorexton, oveporexton)

Depressants

GABAA receptor agonists (e.g., muscimol, gaboxadol) GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators Alcohols (e.g., ethanol, tert-amyl alcohol) Barbiturates (e.g., phenobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital, thiopental) Benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam, clonazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, triazolam, temazepam) Carbamates (e.g., meprobamate, carisoprodol) Inhalants/volatiles (e.g., chloral hydrate, chloroform, diethyl ether, halothane, sevoflurane) Neurosteroids (e.g., progesterone, allopregnanolone/brexanolone, zuranolone) Nonbenzodiazepines/Z drugs (e.g., zolpidem, zopiclone, eszopiclone, zaleplon) Quinazolinones (e.g., methaqualone) Others (e.g., etomidate, glutethimide, kava/kavalactones, potassium bromide, propofol) GABAB receptor agonists (e.g., GHB/sodium oxybate, GBL, 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), phenibut) Gabapentinoids (α2δ ligands) (e.g., gabapentin, pregabalin, gabapentin enacarbil, phenibut) Histamine H1 receptor antagonists (e.g., diphenhydramine, doxylamine, hydroxyzine, doxepin, mirtazapine) Melatonin receptor agonists (e.g., melatonin, ramelteon, tasimelteon) Opioids (μ-opioid receptor agonists) (e.g., codeine, morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone, buprenorphine, kratom) Orexin receptor antagonists (e.g., suvorexant, lemborexant, daridorexant, seltorexant)

Hallucinogens

Psychedelics (serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonists) (e.g., LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-MeO-DMT, 2C-B, ergine) Dissociatives (NMDA receptor antagonists) (e.g., ketamine, phencyclidine (PCP), dextromethorphan (DXM), nitrous oxide (N2O)) Deliriants (muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists) (e.g., scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine, diphenhydramine, trihexyphenidyl) Oneirogens (e.g., ibogaine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine (THH)) GABAA receptor agonists (e.g., muscimol, gaboxadol) κ-Opioid receptor agonists (e.g., salvinorin A, pentazocine) Cannabinoids (cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonists) (e.g., tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), nabilone, JWH-018, JWH-073, HU-210) Others (e.g., carbogen, hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms/Lanmaoa asiatica, hallucinogenic fish/ichthyoallyeinotoxism, mad honey, nutmeg)

Others Cannabinoids (cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonists) (e.g., tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), nabilone, JWH-018, JWH-073, HU-210) Entactogens (serotonin releasing agents) (e.g., MDMA, MDA, methylone, mephedrone, 5-MAPB, 6-APB, MDAI, Borax combo) Glucocorticoids (glucocorticoid receptor agonists) (e.g., cortisol/hydrocortisone, prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone) Nootropics (e.g., piracetam) Poppers/alkyl nitrites (e.g., amyl nitrite) Others (e.g., blue lotus/blue water lily, brivaracetam, flupirtine, kanna, lacosamide, lasmiditan, perampanel, retigabine (ezogabine), etc.)

Psychiatric drugs

Antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs, TeCAs, SARIs, MAOIs, bupropion) Antipsychotics (e.g., typical antipsychotics like chlorpromazine and haloperidol and atypical antipsychotics like quetiapine and aripiprazole) Anxiolytics (e.g., azapirones like buspirone and tandospirone, beta blockers like propranolol, etc.) Mood stabilizers (e.g., lithium, valproic acid, carbamazepine, lamotrigine)

See also Recreational drug use List of drugs List of designer drugs List of euphoriants List of psychoactive plants List of psychiatric drugs by type List of substances used in rituals Psychonautics

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of psychoactive drugs

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of psychoactive drugs claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of psychoactive drugs before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of psychoactive drugs ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of psychoactive drugs

In research: List of psychoactive drugs appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of psychoactive drugs in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of psychoactive drugs is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drug-related lists, Psychoactive drugs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of psychoactive drugs outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of psychoactive drugs in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of psychoactive drugs means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of psychoactive drugs out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of psychoactive drugs in simple terms?

Why does List of psychoactive drugs matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of psychoactive drugs?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of psychoactive drugs.