At the level of neurochemistry, the classic psychedelics – LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT, the active ingredient in the South American hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca) – work primarily by affecting the brain’s serotonin system. Serotonin is one of the brain’s primary neurotransmitters – chemicals which wash through the brain’s circuits and which influence how neurons communicate. Psychedelic drugs influence the serotonin system by binding strongly to a specific serotonin receptor, the 5-HT2a receptor, which is found throughout much of the brain. One of the main
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