Amphetamine psychosis is a form of psychosis which can result from amphetamine or methamphetamine use. Typically it appears after large doses or chronic use, although in rare cases some people may become psychotic after relatively small doses. Other chemicals or drugs which similarly increase dopamine function (such as cocaine and L-DOPA) can produce similar psychotic states. Because of this, the term stimulant psychosis is sometimes preferred. Psychosis (not to be confused with psychopathy) is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired. ... Amphetamine (alpha-methyl-phenethylamine), is a stimulant that is now primarily used to treat narcolepsy and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. ... This article is about the psychostimulant, d-methamphetamine. ... Dopamine is a chemical naturally produced in the body. ... Cocaine (or crack) is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... L-DOPA (levodopa, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine). ...

Overview

Amphetamine psychosis can include delusions, hallucinations and thought disorder. This is thought to be largely due to the increase in dopamine and perhaps serotonin activity in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain caused by amphetamine-like drugs, although other factors such as chronic sleep deprivation may also play a part. The link between amphetamine and psychosis is one of the major sources of evidence for the dopamine hypothesis of psychosis. A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion, which is a misperception of an external stimulus. ... In psychiatry, thought disorder or formal thought disorder is a term used to describe a symptom of psychotic mental illness. ... Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter synthesized in serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) and enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal tract. ... The mesolimbic pathway is one of the neural pathways in the brain that link the ventral tegmentum in the midbrain to the nucleus accumbens in the limbic system. ... In animals the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ... Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. ... The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia or the dopamine hypothesis of psychosis is a theory that argues that the unusual behaviour and experiences associated with schizophrenia (sometimes extended to psychosis in general) can be fully or largely explained by changes in dopamine function in the brain. ...

The link between amphetamine and psychosis was first made by Young and Scoville in 1938¹ and was originally considered to be a rare condition. As amphetamine use increased after World War II, largely due to the widespread use of amphetamine compounds in nasal decongestant and dieting preparations, it became clear that chronic amphetamine use often led to psychotic symptoms. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Hallucinations are frequently reported in chronic amphetamine users, with over 80% of users reporting the presence of hallucinatory experiences², typically as visual or auditory experiences. Delusions, paranoia, fears about persecution, hyperactivity and panic are also reported as the most common features³ The visual system is the part of the nervous system which allows organisms to see. ... Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a longitudinal wave, and therefore is a mechanical wave. ...

Concurrent to having delusions and hallucinations, chronic amphetamine users may also display stereotyped, repetitive and seemingly purposeless movements, known as 'motor stereotypies' or more commonly as 'knick knacking', 'tweaking' or being 'hung-up'. These may include examining, sorting, disassembling, and cleaning. The article on punding gives a more conclusive description of this behavior. This behaivor may be similar to the symptoms of OCD. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Punding is human activity characterized by compulsive fascination with and performance of repetitive, mechanical tasks, such as assembling and disassembling, collecting, or sorting household objects. ... For other things named OCD, see OCD (disambiguation). ...

One particular manifestation of psychosis associated with amphetamine use is delusional parasitosis or Ekbom's syndrome, where a person falsely believes themselves to be infested with parasites. However, related behaviour may occur in non-psychotic conditions, where users will realise they are not infested by parasites but will pick at their skin anyway. This more closely resembles obsessive-compulsive disorder. Delusional parasitosis or Ekboms Syndrome is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief they are infested with parasites. ... Delusional parasitosis or Ekboms Syndrome is a rare disorder in which sufferers hold a delusional belief they are infested with parasites. ...

Amphetamine psychosis in popular culture

There is a chapter in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas intitled 'Aaawww, Mama, Can This Really Be the End?... Down and Out in Vegas, with Amphetamine Psychosis Again?', a reference to Bob Dylan's Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again. Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. ... The hard cover version of the book. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941), is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again is a song by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. ...

In the film Requiem for a Dream, Sara Goldfarb, one of the four main characters clearly suffers from amphetamine psychosis after having been prescribed amphetamines as a weight loss drug, specifically, hallucinations of her refrigerator trying to devour her. Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 film adaptation of a 1978 novel of the same name. ...

The meth song is a drug awareness public service announcement that has become part of popular culture. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A public service announcement (PSA) or community service announcement (CSA) is a non-commercial advertisement, typically on radio or television, broadcast for the public good. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, (literally: the culture of the people) consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ...

The film A Scanner Darkly (as well as the novel of the same name) contains a scene where the character Charles Freck suffers from the infestation psychosis. A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 film by Richard Linklater based on the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name. ... A Scanner Darkly is a 1977 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. ...

The anti-drug advertising of the Montana Meth Project often focuses on the dangers of amphetamine psychosis. The Montana Meth Project is a Montana-based anti-drug organization founded by billionaire Thomas Siebel. ...

See also

• Amphetamine
• Delusional parasitosis
• Dopamine hypothesis of psychosis
• Psychosis

Amphetamine (alpha-methyl-phenethylamine), is a stimulant that is now primarily used to treat narcolepsy and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. ... Delusional parasitosis or Ekboms Syndrome is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief they are infested with parasites. ... The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia or the dopamine hypothesis of psychosis is a theory that argues that the unusual behaviour and experiences associated with schizophrenia (sometimes extended to psychosis in general) can be fully or largely explained by changes in dopamine function in the brain. ... Psychosis (not to be confused with psychopathy) is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired. ...

External links

• Chronic amphetamine use and abuse - Review published in 2000.

Further reading

• Connell, P.H. (1961) Amphetamine Psychosis. Oxford University Press.

References

¹ Young, D. & Scoville, W.B. (1938) Paranoid psychosis in narcolepsy and the possible danger of benzedrine treatment. The Medical clinics of North America, 22, 637-46.
² Kalant, O.J. (1966) The amphetamines: Toxicity and addiction Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas Publishers.
³ Ellinwood, E.H, (1967) Amphetamine Psychosis. I. Description of the individuals and processes. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 144, 273-283.