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LSD

(Encyclopedia)LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide līˌsûrˈjĭk, dīˌĕthˈələmĭd, dīˌĕthəlămˈĭd [key], alkaloid synthesized from lysergic acid, which is found in the fungus ergot (Claviceps purpurea). I...

hallucination

(Encyclopedia)hallucination, false perception characterized by a distortion of real sensory stimuli. Common types of hallucination are auditory, i.e., hearing voices or noises and visual, i.e., seeing people that a...

Leary, Timothy Francis

(Encyclopedia)Leary, Timothy Francis, 1920–96, American psychologist and educator, b. Springfield, Mass.; B.A., Univ. of Alabama, 1943; M.A., Washington State Univ.; Ph.D., Univ. of California at Berkeley, 1950. ...

ergot

(Encyclopedia)ergot ûrˈgət [key], disease of rye and other cereals caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. The cottony, matlike body, or mycelium, of the fungus develops in the ovaries of the host plant; it eve...

serotonin

(Encyclopedia)serotonin sĕrˌətōˈnĭn [key], organic compound that was first recognized as a powerful vasoconstrictor occurring in blood serum. It was partially purified, crystallized, and named in 1948, and it...

alkaloid

(Encyclopedia)alkaloid, any of a class of organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and usually oxygen that are often derived from plants. Although the name means alkalilike, some alkaloids do not e...

hallucinogenic drug

(Encyclopedia)hallucinogenic drug həlo͞oˌsənōjĕnˈĭk [key], any of a group of substances that alter consciousness; also called psychotomimetic (i.e., mimicking psychosis), mind-expanding, or psychedelic drug...

drug poisoning

(Encyclopedia)drug poisoning, toxic effects caused by an administered drug. Worldwide more than 9 million natural and synthetic chemicals have been identified; fewer than 3000 cause more than 95% of acidental and d...

Kesey, Ken Elton

(Encyclopedia)Kesey, Ken Elton, 1935–2001, American novelist and counterculture figure, b. La Junta, Colo.; grad. Univ. of Oregon (1957), Stanford Univ. (1960). While a student he volunteered for a hospital study...

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