Intoxicating minds : how drugs work / Ciaran Regan.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Why do smokers claim that the first cigarette of the day is the best? What is the biological basis behind some heavy drinkers' belief that the "hair-of-the-dog" method alleviates the effects of a hangover? Why does marijuana seem to affect ones problem-solving capacity? Intoxicating Minds is, in the author's words, "a grand excavation of drug myth." Neither extolling nor condemning drug use, it is a story of scientific and artistic achievement, war and greed, empires and religions, and lessons for the future.

Ciaran Regan looks at each class of drugs, describing the historical evolution of their use, explaining how they work within the brain's neurophysiology, and outlining the basic pharmacology of those substances. From a consideration of the effect of stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, and the reasons and consequences of their sudden popularity in the seventeenth century, the book moves to a discussion of more modern stimulants, such as cocaine and ecstasy. In addition, Regan explains how we process memory, the nature of thought disorders, and therapies for treating depression and schizophrenia. Regan then considers psychedelic drugs and their perceived mystical properties and traces the history of placebos to ancient civilizations. Finally, Intoxicating Minds considers the physical consequences of our co-evolution with drugs--how they have altered our very being--and offers a glimpse of the brave new world of drug therapies.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Irish pharmacologist Regan investigates different classes of psychoactive drugs, explaining their effects on the brain and giving a brief history of their use. In addition to illegal drugs, he covers those used to treat mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Regan is particularly interested in memory how it is chemically and electrically created, stored, and deleted from our brains and goes into far more depth than many similar titles regarding the effects drugs have on the brain. Unfortunately, he tries to cover too much in the space allotted. It is difficult to discern the intended audience. The introduction claims it was written for general readers, but the book is a bit too dry and academic; neither does it have the depth or references to be considered scholarly. This reviewer has long been fascinated with the historical and cultural significance of intoxication yet found herself yawning throughout. For specialized drug collections only. Eris Weaver, Redwood Health Lib., Petaluma, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Regan (pharmacology, University College, Dublin, Ireland) makes clear the wonderful but perplexing complexity of the human brain. Skillfully leading the reader through a maze of complex biochemical information, she describes how far we have come in our understanding of the mechanisms of psychoactive drug effects and how far we have yet to go before our understanding is complete. The inclusion of a historical chronology with the discussion of each new category of drugs explains the tortuous nature of that journey to understanding. Regan clarifies the interaction between drugs and brain chemistry solely in the narrative. Only a few tables are included but no illustrations, which on occasion would have facilitated reader understanding. This book is not for the novice; only individuals with a fairly sophisticated understanding of anatomy, physiology, and chemistry will be able to fully appreciate its content and complexity. Still, the writing style is so relaxed that the reader has a sense of simply reading a story--and it is fascinating! A delightful read! Recommended for inclusion in libraries that serve upper-division undergraduates and graduate students in the health science professions. T. D. DeLapp University of Alaska, Anchorage

Kirkus Book Review

An extremely short account of an extremely big subject: the history, uses, physiological effects, pharmacological development, and future of drugs. Although he discusses the negative physiological effects of drug and alcohol abuse, Regan's (Pharmacology/University College Dublin) approach to his subject is informative rather than moral: He treats recreational drugs such as fly agaric mushrooms and LSD side by side with prescription antipsychotics (such as Prozac and Paxil), and the mildest of drugs (such as caffeine and tobacco) along with their more serious counterparts without missing a beat. Regan emphasizes the anthropology of drug use (e.g., the possibilities that early cave painters were "stoned" while painting and that Europeans stuck longer with alcohol and were slower to take up amphetamines than their American and African cousins) and the raw science of drugs and drug use: i.e., how drugs are processed by the body, what their short- and long-term effects are, and how they have been developed from their first scientific discovery to recent and future developments by what has become the modern-day pharmaceuticals behemoth. Presumably, Regan's hope in part was to write an accessible introduction to a subject normally surrounded by myth and misinformation, and given his expertise and matter-of-fact approach, this would be a valuable installment were it not such a slight work. Given the mammoth nature of Regan's project, however, it is a wonder that the volume came in under 1,000 pages, much less under 200. Unfortunately, this brevity is achieved at a cost: the author skims too lightly over his subjects, and the hard science he uses to describe how drugs work in the body and how they are developed is not a good match for the lay audience suggested by the overall tone and depth. Material that might have worked better as chapters of a textbook.