Eli5: What is it in e.g drugs and mushrooms that makes you hallucinate?

Question

I have been thinking about this for like a year. What is it really that is going on?

In: 0

Answer 1

Depends on the drug for what is the active ingredient. Acid is lysergic acid diethylamide . Mushrooms is psilocybin. Peyote is mescaline. There are many others. Depending on the chemical and its structure it stimulates, suppresses or otherwise modifies the activity of neurotransmitters. It is a temporary chemical imbalance in the brain which we perceive as hallucinations.

Edit: Check out the site erowid.org and they have extensive information on every drug, how it works, where it comes from, what to avoid mixing it with, personal experiences, and scholarlly articles.