Amphetamine and Cocaine Like Psychosis
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 used in preference.
Amphetamine psychosis can include delusions, hallucinations and thought
disorder. This is thought to be largely due to the increase in dopamine 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.
The link between amphetamine and psychosis was first
made by Young and Scoville in 1938 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.
Hallucinations are frequently reported in chronic amphetamine
users, with over 80% of users reporting the presence of hallucinatory
experiences, typically as visual or auditory experiences. Delusions, paranoia,
fears about persecution, hyperactivity and panic are also reported as the most
common features.
Concurrent to having delusions and hallucinations, chronic
amphetamine users may also display stereotyped, repetitive and seemingly
purposeless movements, known as "motor stereotypes" or more commonly as "knick
knacking", "tweeking" or being "hung-up". These may include examining, sorting,
disassembling, and cleaning.
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 behavior may occur in non-psychotic conditions, where users will realize
they are not infested by parasites but will pick at their skin anyway. This more
closely resembles obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Morgellons Disease Multi Language Support
MorgellonsResearchFoundation.com Morgellons BLOG
Morgellons Research Foundation Com
www.morgellonsresearchfoundation.com