Eli5: What exactly are the deliriant drugs, like what is delirium and how do certain drugs create this effect?

Question

Eli5: What exactly are the deliriant drugs, like what is delirium and how do certain drugs create this effect?

In: 3

Answer 1

Deliriants are a type of hallucinogenic, but instead of working on serotonin (psychedelics) or glutamate (dissociatives), deliriants work on Acetylcholine.

Acetylcholine is an extremely important neurotransmitter, and can modulate everything from muscle function to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, as well as memory, attention, and arousal.

In small doses, these effects can be useful, such as Benadryl (diphenhydramine). At higher doses the effects become more dramatic and dangerous.

Because of the huge effect on arousal (as in energy use) that acetylcholine has, when you mess with it, you produce a lot of side effects, the combination of symptoms that is exhibited as “delirium” is one of them.