The dream dDrugstore : chemically altered states of consciousness

Hobson notes that the purpose of this book is to develop a "three-way analogy between dreaming, psychosis, and psychedelic experience." These varied states of consciousness share underlying mechanisms mainly involving a subtle shift in neuromodulatory systems. He relates that the "larger implication of this goal is to promote the concept of a unified theory that could account for all spontaneous and induced alterations of consciousness, whether they are produced and experienced in the context of natural life, scientific experimentation, therapeutic treatment, or recreational use." Of that final topic, I enjoyed his rendering of hallucinogen usage as "recreational psychopathology." By this, he neither maligns psychopathology nor hallucinogen usage (at least as a productive research tool). According to the theory that unites this often dissociated book; dreaming, psychosis, and psychedelic experience are facets of the same gem. While The Dream Drugstore: Chemically Altered States of Consciousness imparts numerous interesting points about dreams and dream physiology, its scope is much broader. Hobson's other books, such as Dreaming: An Introduction to the Science of Sleep or The Dreaming Brain: How the Brain Creates Both the Sense and the Nonsense of Dreams are surely the ones to consult for more detailed reviews of dream theories. An important point he relates is that during REM sleep, working memory and areas of the frontal lobe are inhibited. This helps to explain the capricious shifts in themes, plots, and characters that are typical of dream experience. Moreover, the disruption of these systems is linked to the sequestration of monoamines (esp. serotonin and norepinephrine) during sleep. During the day the dominance of aminergic over cholinergic systems is typical while at night the opposite ensues. He sees these two systems as locked in a competition that affects all aspects of consciousness. Hobson provides a solid review of the main categories of psychotropic drugs and explains their mechanisms of action with a particular eye toward supporting his ideas about the diurnally shifting balance of neuromodulators. Numerous long-winded accounts of Hobson's own dreams pepper the book. Reading others' dream journals is none too rewarding but Hobson's point is well made: dreams can be just as odd, transcendental, or psychedelic as any acid trip. Though a psychiatrist, Hobson derides the casually prescribing druggists of his profession. He believes a more circumspect approach is necessary even in the use of well-tested psychotropics, such as the SSRIs. According to his research, SSRIs can profoundly affect the architecture of sleep and potentially lead to long-term change in neuromodulatory systems, some beneficial, others not. He's not an absolutist and would hardly eschew the use of drugs to treat serious conditions but insists that a more careful cost-benefit analysis be employed in all cases. As he notes, "the sad conclusion is that the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry may be collaborating in an unwitting and unplanned program of experimental medicine." Hobson makes a reasoned critique of "selective" psychotropics by writing that even the selectivity of some drugs to influence a single neuromodulator or receptor type becomes problematized once we recognize the complex dynamics of neurophysiology; in short, we're talking about a `wet' system here, not a `dry' one. This is biochemistry, not a clockworks. The book is extremely dense in some places. It's important to remember that insights from a 40 year career are compressed into these pages. The almost impressionistic way Hobson relates some complex issues can be hard-to-follow by the non-specialist. But the book abounds in fascinating ideas and theories. I found the last third especially fruitful, so reading all the way through rather than giving up too soon has its rewards. An investigation into the brain's chemistry and the mechanisms of chemically altered states of consciousness. In this book, J. Allan Hobson offers a new understanding of altered states of consciousness based on knowledge of how our brain chemistry is balanced when we are awake and how that balance shifts when we fall asleep and dream. He draws on recent research that enables us to explain how psychedelic drugs work to disturb that balance and how similar imbalances may cause depression and schizophrenia. He also draws on work that expands our understanding of how certain drugs can correct imbalances and restore the brain's natural equilibrium. Hobson explains the chemical balance concept in terms of what we know about the regulation of normal states of consciousness over the course of the day by brain chemicals called neuromodulators. He presents striking confirmation of the principle that every drug that has transformative effects on consciousness interacts with the brain's own consciousness-altering chemicals. In the section called "The Medical Drugstore," Hobson describes drugs used to counteract anxiety and insomnia, to raise and lower mood, and to eliminate or diminish the hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenia. He discusses the risks involved in their administration, including the possibility of new disorders caused by indiscriminate long-term use. In "The Recreational Drugstore," Hobson discusses psychedelic drugs, narcotic analgesia, and natural drugs. He also considers the distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate drug use. In the concluding "Psychological Drugstore," he discusses the mind as an agent, not just the mediator, of change, and corrects many erroneous assumptions and practices that hinder the progress of psychoanalysis.

In this book, J. Allan Hobson offers a new understanding of altered states of consciousness based on knowledge of how our brain chemistry is balanced when we are awake and how that balance shifts when we fall asleep and dream. He draws on recent research that enables us to explain how psychedelic drugs work to disturb that balance and how similar imbalances may cause depression and schizophrenia. He also draws on work that expands our understanding of how certain drugs can correct imbalances and restore the brain's natural equilibrium.Hobson explains the chemical balance concept in terms of what we know about the regulation of normal states of consciousness over the course of the day by brain chemicals called neuromodulators. He presents striking confirmation of the principle that every drug that has transformative effects on consciousness interacts with the brain's own consciousness-altering chemicals. In the section called"The Medical Drugstore," Hobson describes drugs used to counteract anxiety and insomnia, to raise and lower mood, and to eliminate or diminish the hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenia. He discusses the risks involved in their administration, including the possibility of new disorders caused by indiscriminate long-term use. In "The Recreational Drugstore," Hobson discusses psychedelic drugs, narcotic analgesia, and natural drugs. He also considers the distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate drug use. In the concluding "Psychological Drugstore," he discusses the mind as an agent, not just the mediator, of change, and corrects many erroneous assumptions and practices that hinder the progress of psychoanalysis.

Offers an understanding of altered states of consciousness based on knowledge of how our brain chemistry is balanced when we are awake and how that balance shifts when we fall asleep and dream. Hobson draws on recent research that enables us to explain how psychedelic drugs work to disturb that balance and how similar imbalances may cause depression and schizophrenia. He also draws on work that expands our understanding of how certain drugs can correct imbalances and restore the brain's natural equilibrium. Hobson explains the chemical balance concept in terms of what we know about the regulation of normal states of consciousness over the course of the day by brain chemicals called neuromodulators. He presents confirmation of the principle that every drug that has transformative effects on consciousness interacts with the brain's own consciousness-altering chemicals. In the section called"The Medical Drugstore," Hobson describes drugs used to counteract anxiety and insomnia, raise and lower mood, and to eliminate or diminish the hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenia. He discusses the risks involved in their administration, including the possibility of new disorders caused by indiscriminate long-term use. In "The Recreational Drugstore," Hobson discusses psychedelic drugs, narcotic analgesia, and natural drugs. He also considers the distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate drug use. In the concluding "Psychological Drugstore," he discusses the mind as an agent, not just the mediator, of change, and corrects many erroneous assumptions and practices that hinder the progress of psychoanalysis. --From publisher description Introduction......Page 2 Acknowledgments......Page 6 1. Consciousness and Brain Science......Page 9 2. Pushing the Envelope: How States of Consciousness Alter......Page 34 3. Waking and Dreaming: The Polestars of Our Stately Cosmos......Page 54 4. The Neurodynamics of Dreaming......Page 71 5. The Neurodynamics of Dissociation, Hypnosis, and Autosuggestion......Page 87 6. The Brain-Mind and Its Conscious States......Page 114 7. Models of Conscious State Alteration......Page 131 8. Sleep and Dream Disorders......Page 151 9. Brain Dysfunctions that Alter Consciousness......Page 173 10. The Psychopharmacology of Everyday Life: Drugs for Anxiety and Sleep......Page 200 11. Regulating Mood: The MAOIs, Tricyclics, and SSRIs......Page 214 12. Psychosis and Antipsychosis: Opening and Shutting the Dream Drugstore......Page 225 13. Good Trips and Bad: The Psychedelics......Page 242 14. Feeling No Pain: The Narcotics......Page 261 15. From Cult to Laboratory: Mushrooms, Cactus Buttons, and Coca Leaves......Page 276 16. Treatment Implications: Changing the Brain by Changing the Mind......Page 293 Bibliography......Page 305 Index......Page 306