Salvia divinorum: enigma psicofarmacológico y resquicio mente-cuerpo
Salud Mental January 1, 2014 J. Díaz 4 citations
A multidisciplinary analysis of Salvia divinorum and its main active principle, salvinorin A, examines whether the plant's ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology can explain its experienced effects and traditional divinatory uses. Field research from 1973-1983 documented that a water potion of crushed leaves produced short-lasting light-headedness, dysphoria, tactile and proprioceptive sensations, depersonalization, amplified sound perception, and increased visual and auditory imagery, but no actual hallucinations. Similar effects were attributed to salvinorin A, but cannot be explained solely by its potent brain kappa-opioid receptor agonist activity. The paper proposes requirements for classifying consciousness-altering substances and suggests top-down analyses of neural networks to explore differential ethnic effects.