• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

What Causes Paranoia?

Bob Loblaw

Bob Loblaw

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
18,174
Location
yolimo
Many drugs are paranoia-inducing (e.g. amphetamines, phenethylamines, tryptamines, cocaine, etc.). What exactly is pharmacologically responsible for that quality?
 
im not sure but to that list i think marijuana should be added. Marijuana can induce very sever paranoia in me. almost always the paranoia involves government agencies monitering my communications.
 
I think it must have something to do with the stimulant effect. all the drugs that seem to cause paranoia are stimulants. The ones that are not mainly stims (MJ, trypts, and phenethyls) all also cause racing thouhts. maybe the mild stimulant effect and the racing thoughts develops into paranoia?
 
What has been? If you're referring to the cause of paranoia, I'd love to see some sources :D.
 
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for salience. Too much dopamine causes too much salience, otherwise known as paranoia. All of those drugs are strong dopaminergics.

edit: rephrased
 
Last edited:
^ what about lsd? it doesnt have very much dopaminergic activity if i remember correctly (i could be wrong though). Also this may be a newbie question but what dopaminergic activity do opiods have?
 
mr.dopeman said:
^ what about lsd? it doesnt have very much dopaminergic activity if i remember correctly (i could be wrong though). Also this may be a newbie question but what dopaminergic activity do opiods have?
Click to expand...

Actually, it affects all dopamine receptor subtypes. It's one of the most dopaminergic psychedelics.

Mu and Delta opioid receptor agonists indirectly release dopamine by inhibiting the GABA-B receptor subtype. The dopamine is what's responsible for the warm euphoria and reinforcing effects. Kappa opioid receptor agonist do the opposite, and can be quite dysphoric - take salvia (salvorin) for example.
 
mr.dopeman said:
im not sure but to that list i think marijuana should be added. Marijuana can induce very sever paranoia in me. almost always the paranoia involves government agencies monitering my communications.
Click to expand...

I'd be slightly wary of that matey... Paranoia associated with schizophrenia is almost alway persecutory in nature (i.e. people or agencies out to get you, implanting/removing thoughts or monitoring communications, but this is not exclusive, can involve many other forms of paranoia or hallucinations) and despite what people may say, weed can induce the aspects of the disorder if you are predisposed to it...

Just out of interest, how old are you? Does your family have a history of mental illness?

Sorry to pry but paranoia of that nature does seem worrisome and may be a reason to cut back on smoking IMO... Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns...
 
Well i dont know a whole lot about pharmacologically wise but it could be due to the release of dopamine, as most stimulants DO release. anti-psychotics like haldol and seroquel, inhibit the brain from releasing dopamine because studies have shown that people with schizophrenia, and sever paranoia, have been linked to high amounts of dopamine, so the anti-psychotics inhibit this action, thus reducing paranoia and psychosis. another reason could be the setting you're in. for instance, you could get pretty paranoid if you're smokin meth or snortin coke and you're on probation and you're on the run. that be a reason, rather than just a free man kickin back at his house doin coke or something.
 
Dopamine is the likely suspect... Amphetamine and cocaine can induce paranoia and psychosis with heavy use, and both act to increase dopaminergic activity in the brain. Infact both drugs have been used extensively in behavioural pharmacology to model the positive symptomatology of schizohrenia (i.e. paranoid hallucinations).

More recent research into models of schizophrenia involves drugs such as PCP and ketamine that act by blocking the NMDA glutamate receptor, which produces a more relevant model, encompassing both the positive and negative aspects of teh disease, as well as the cognitive dysfunction. Now although PCP and ketamine act by NMDA antagonism, this does have a knock on effect that results in hyperactivity of dopamine receptors in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. So again, producing hyperdopaminergic effects, possibly leading to the positive (aka paranoid) symptoms of the disease...

And as thadocta13 mentioned, a lot, if not all antipsychotics do act in some degree by blocking the dopamine D2 receptors in the brain, haloperidol in particular, giving further evidence to dopamines role in paranoia...
 
samb834 said:
I'd be slightly wary of that matey... Paranoia associated with schizophrenia is almost alway persecutory in nature (i.e. people or agencies out to get you, implanting/removing thoughts or monitoring communications, but this is not exclusive, can involve many other forms of paranoia or hallucinations) and despite what people may say, weed can induce the aspects of the disorder if you are predisposed to it...

Just out of interest, how old are you? Does your family have a history of mental illness?

Sorry to pry but paranoia of that nature does seem worrisome and may be a reason to cut back on smoking IMO... Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns...
Click to expand...

I don't have any underlying mental disorders, and I usually get the worst paranoia with weed. Even when I'm alone with no one else, i'll even get paranoid of ghosts or the boogy man in the closet, shit like that. It's not unusual, most people get paranoid on pot. It releases massive amounts of dopamine.
 
Tsukasa said:
I don't have any underlying mental disorders, and I usually get the worst paranoia with weed. Even when I'm alone with no one else, i'll even get paranoid of ghosts or the boogy man in the closet, shit like that. It's not unusual, most people get paranoid on pot. It releases massive amounts of dopamine.
Click to expand...

True, but just concerned about the specific nature of the paranoia in dopemans post... Shit, I get paranoid if/when I smoke dope but it was just the specific mention about government agencies monitor communications that caught my attention... SZ predominately affects males say 17 - 25 years old... The older you are the less likely you are to develop it...

Probably nothing but just abit worried him...
 
^ I remember reading about those kinds of cases in an abnormal psychology book. You may be on to something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top