What actually causes hallucinations during a trip?

That you will hallucinate during a trip is well known, but what actually causes hallucinations? Of course, that is the mind-altering substance, such as psilocybin or mescaline. But why do we all see these patterns, visions, colors and even strange creatures? Many of these images are seen by people all over the world when they are tripping. In this blog you can read what is now known about this.

Those who go tripping (for example, with magic truffles) often do so to experience the special effects. These are mainly the hallucinations. There are a variety of visual effects that can occur during a trip, which we can divide into four categories:

• Reinforcements
• Distortions
• Geometry
• Hallucinations

Classical mind-altering drugs produce effects that arise from their influence on the 5-HT2A receptors in the brain. They act as agonists, meaning a substance that increases the activity of a cell. These drugs take over the role of serotonin, a body substance that normally binds to this receptor.

We now know that it is this activity that provides the visual effects. This has been investigated by administering the drug ketanserin, a drug that is a 5-HT2A antagonist. So it has an opposite effect and lowers the activity of a cell. This drug was given before and during a psychedelic experience, and it was found to completely block the mind-altering effects.

In 2002, some scientists published a paper on visual hallucinations. They referenced the work of German psychologist Klüver, who classified hallucinations into four groups: tunnels, spirals, gratings (such as triangles and honeycombs) and spider webs. Usually these visuals are seen with both eyes and move with the eyes.

The researchers infer that hallucinations take shape in the brain. They hypothesize that they originate in the primary visual cortex, an area whose task is to process visual stimuli. As a result, the architecture of the cortex determines what geometric effects you see during a trip, according to the researchers.

Jack Cowan is a neurobiologist who was involved in this research. Back in 1982, he brought up that activity in the visual cortex, was responsible for the experience, where it is like moving through a tunnel. This is because of the way the retina projects onto the surface of the visual cortex.

Another cause of hallucinations is the fact that the brain is naturally fractal. This means that patterns keep repeating themselves at different scales. That is one of the reasons that many people report seeing fractal visuals when they use psychedelics. A great quote from scientific researcher Robin Carhart-Harris, then, is:

“Like the branches of trees, the brain repeats itself. You don’t see the cells themselves, but the way they are organized. As if the brain revealed itself to itself.

The aforementioned researcher Carhart-Harris has also developed a model established: the “relaxed beliefs under the influence of psychedelics” model. This model is based on the idea that the brain is divided into networks that function in a certain hierarchy. Examples include the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Central Executive Network (CEN).

These are both networks that can be seen as higher level. The hippocampus and visual cortex are lower level. According to Carhart-Harris’ model, this hierarchical division collapses when you use a mind-altering drug. The higher level networks lose control of the lower ones. This allows these lower networks to run their course unhindered, and that can provide the many visual effects during a trip.

But why is this a cause of hallucinations? Normally, the visual cortex makes predictions based on input from the senses. These are compared with the actual input from the senses. Based on this equation, the brain builds a reliable model of the world. However, if there are errors in these predictions, the higher level systems will provide recovery. They can do that because they are in control.

But under the influence of psychedelics, they lose that control. According to Carhart-Harris, the lower-level networks can operate more freely in the conscious experience. They indicate that this simple model can explain all types of experiences that occur during a trip. So also the encounters with entities, geometric hallucinations and dream-like visions.

Many people are convinced that different drugs lead to differences in hallucinations. This way magic mushrooms are known to make the hallucinations softer and more organic than when you take LSD, for example. The images flow more (like water) with intense colors and objects that can change shape. The visuals of LSD are sharper, angular and kind of electric.

From recently published research in the Journal Neuropsychopharmacology, however, suggests that there are few differences between the effects of LSD and psilocybin. They produced almost equal effects. It seems that these differences we experience have more to do with our mindset than with the drug itself.

Hopefully you found this dive into the scientific causes of hallucinations interesting. The brain is fascinating and in many cases still mysterious. And the same goes for psychedelics. If you want to experience a trip yourself, be careful about the dosage and the drug you take. If you are interested in trying magic mushrooms, take a look around our shop. The Mexican From All in One, Thai or Mazatapec are suitable for beginners. In these handy grow kits you will find everything you need to grow your own mushrooms at home.