Psychedelic Substances

The book's primary focus is on ingested substances that cause the user to have a range of psycho-emotional experiences: the loss of a sense of self, an experience of connection to a powerful, universal source of love and light, and a connection to deeper personal feelings are among the most commonly reported effects of usage. The word "psychedelic," used as an umbrella term for substances that have these sorts of effects was coined by early researcher Humphry Osmond in collaboration with renowned writer Aldous Huxley. Pollan's investigations, and the narrative of those investigations (both personal and scientific) is focused primarily on two substances: psilocybin (found in the fungus commonly referred to as "magic mushrooms") and LSD, although there are references to other substances such as mescaline, “the toad,” and ayuhuasca.

The Human Brain

A key focus of the research conducted on psychedelics over the decades has...