1.  1943: Hallucinogenic properties of synthetic ergoline LSD by Albert Hoffman
2. 1948: Serotonin was found in bovine clood
3. 1953: relatively high concentrations of serotonin were found in the brain
4. Shortly after, It was proposed by both Gaddum and Hammeed and Woolley and Shaw that the effects of LSD can result from antagonism of serotonin, specifically 5-Ht, in the CNS.
    - LSD could mimic as well

University of South Florida

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

There is growing evidence that there are drug interactions present between at least two types of hallucinogens. Common active sites are in the central nervous system, however, the hallucinogens only provide partial agonists. This can be used against the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2 receptors.

Serotonin and Hallucinogens

Aghajanian, G., Marek, G. Serotonin and Hallucinogens. Neuropsychopharmacol 21, 16–23 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(98)00135-3

Neuronal Actions of Hallucinogenic Drugs

History of Serotonin and Hallucinogens


The psychoactive drug LSD is chemically structured very similarly to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Because of this structural resemblance, LSD is able to affect the same neurons and bind to the same receptor sites in the brain that serotonin normally interacts with.

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