Psychedelic Glossary

Breakthrough Therapy Designation (FDA) is an FDA program intended to speed development and review of drugs that may offer substantial improvement for serious conditions.

Cultivar is a cultivated variety selected for recognizable traits within a species.

Decriminalization usually means reducing or removing criminal penalties for certain conduct without creating a regulated legal market.

Default Mode Network is a set of interacting brain regions often active during self-referential thought, memory, and mind-wandering.

Difficult Experience (a.k.a.

Ego Dissolution describes a temporary softening or loss of the ordinary sense of separate self during a psychedelic or other altered state.

Entheogen is a term used for psychoactive substances in spiritual, ceremonial, or religious contexts.

Flashback / HPPD refers to the return or persistence of perceptual disturbances after a psychedelic or hallucinogen experience.

Fruiting Body is the visible reproductive structure of a fungus, commonly called the mushroom.

5-HT2A Receptor is a serotonin receptor subtype strongly associated with the classic psychedelic effects of psilocin, LSD, and DMT.

Harm Reduction is a public-health approach that tries to reduce negative outcomes without pretending risky behavior never happens.

Integration (psychedelic) is the process of making sense of a psychedelic experience and translating insights into ordinary life.

Legalization means a jurisdiction has created lawful conditions for at least some possession, services, production, or use.

Macrodose refers to a perceptible psychedelic dose intended to produce clear changes in perception, emotion, and cognition.

Microdose usually means a very small amount of a psychedelic, commonly described as below the level of obvious intoxication.

Mycelium is the branching network of fungal cells that grows through a substrate or habitat.

Neuroplasticity is the nervous system's capacity to change its structure, function, or connections over time.

Psilocin is the active metabolite produced when the body dephosphorylates psilocybin.

Psilocybe azurescens is a potent wood-loving psilocybin mushroom species associated with the Pacific Northwest.

Psilocybe cubensis is the best-known psilocybin mushroom species in modern strain guides.

Psilocybe semilanceata (Liberty Cap) is a small, potent psilocybin mushroom species with a long history in European and North American field reports.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring tryptamine compound found in several mushroom species and converted by the body into psilocin.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy is a clinical or therapeutic model in which a psychedelic session is paired with preparation and follow-up support.

Schedule I (Controlled Substances) is the federal Controlled Substances Act category that includes psilocybin and psilocin.

Serotonin (5-HT) is a neurotransmitter involved in mood, perception, sleep, gut function, and many other body systems.

Set and Setting is the shorthand for a person's internal state and external environment before and during a psychedelic experience.

Sitter / Trip Sitter is a sober support person who helps maintain safety and calm during a psychedelic experience.

Synesthesia is a blending of sensory experiences, such as perceiving sounds as colors or letters as having textures.

Treatment-Resistant Depression usually refers to depression that has not responded adequately to at least two appropriate treatment attempts.

Tryptamine is a chemical backbone found in serotonin, melatonin, psilocin, DMT, and many related compounds.