What is LSD, what does it do to your brain and the reason it’s not lethal even at large doses?
In: Biology
LSD is believed to act mainly (although not exclusively) on some of the “serotonin receptors” in your brain. Serotonin is one of the many neurotransmitters that enables the brain to send signals through selective synapses, creating “circuits” that we interpret as thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.
LSD mimics serotonin well enough to bind to the receptors, but it doesn’t act quite like real serotonin. This causes parts of the brain to work in unusual (and somewhat variable) ways.
It isn’t lethal because it is apparently similar enough to the natural neurotransmitters to not cause a major malfunction in the brain. And while the human body has serotonin receptors in other places (most notably in the gut), LSD does not apparently disrupt them to the point of fatality either.
And while there are few (or no) credible instances of LSD overdose inducing death, in very large doses it can cause physical harm. Probably the most famous instance was when eight people snorted very large doses of crystalline LSD at a party, apparently thinking that it was cocaine. They were hospitalized, and some of them were put on life support. All eight survived.
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