Amphetamine psychosis
Amphetamine psychosis is a form of psychosis which can result from amphetamine or methamphetamine use. Typically it appears after large doses or chronic use, although in rare cases some people may become psychotic after relatively small doses.
Overview
Amphetamine psychosis can seem almost identical to psychosis associated with schizophrenia and may include delusions, hallucinations and thought disorder. Other chemicals or drugs which similarly increase dopamine function (such as cocaine and L-DOPA) can produce similar psychotic states.
This is thought to be largely due to the increase in dopamine activity in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain caused by amphetamine-like drugs, although other factors such as chronic sleep deprivation may also play a part. The link between amphetamine and psychosis is one of the major sources of evidence for the dopamine hypothesis of psychosis.
The link between amphetamine and psychosis was first made by Young and Scoville in 19381 and was originally considered to be a rare condition. As amphetamine use increased after World War Two, largely due to the widespread use of amphetamine compounds in nasal decongestant and dieting preparations, it became clear that chronic amphetamine use often led to psychotic symptoms.
Hallucinations are frequently reported in chronic amphetamine users, with over 80% of users reporting the presence of hallucinatory experiences2, typically as visual or auditory experiences. Delusions, paranoia, fears about persecution, hyperactivity and panic are also reported as the most common features3
Concurrent to having delusions and hallucinations, chronic amphetamine users may also display stereotyped, repetitive and seemingly purposeless movements, known as 'motor stereotypies' or more colloquially as 'knick knacking' or being 'hung-up'. These may include examining, sorting, obsessing over mental puzzles or games, repetitious pattern drawing and drafting and may resemble motor sterotypies present in schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
One particular manifestation of psychosis commonly associated with amphetamine use is delusional parasitosis or Ekbom's syndrome, where a person falsely believes themselves to be infested with parasites.
See also
