You might not expect that bad trip you had in a rave to be of much academic interest.

你可能不會想到，你在狂歡中經歷的那場糟糕的旅行會有多大的學術意義。

But bad trips are common, and can result in serious distress or even death.

但是，絆倒的情況很常見，可能導致嚴重的痛苦甚至死亡。

So some scientists have been trying to figure out what causes them.

是以，一些科學家一直在試圖找出它們的成因。

And you weren't hallucinating when you saw the title of this video.

當你看到這段視頻的標題時，你並沒有產生幻覺。

They think they've found it.

他們認為已經找到了。

INTRO

導言

Magic mushrooms, LSD, ecstasy, mescaline…

魔幻蘑菇、迷幻藥、搖頭丸、麥司卡林

The compounds in all of these psychedelic drugs may differ, but they tend to produce pretty similar experiences.

所有這些迷幻藥中的化合物可能各不相同，但它們往往會產生非常相似的體驗。

Despite the fact that they're illegal and unregulated in many places, this isn't stopping people from using them.

儘管它們在很多地方都是非法的，不受監管，但這並不妨礙人們使用它們。

And it sure isn't stopping people from having bad trips in the process.

在這個過程中，它肯定不會阻止人們發生糟糕的旅行。

What do people mean when they say they've had a bad trip?

人們說自己旅途不順是什麼意思？

Psych researchers prefer the term challenging experiences.

心理研究人員更傾向於使用 "挑戰性經歷 "這一術語。

And those experiences can come with a whole host of different symptoms.

而這些經歷可能伴隨著一系列不同的症狀。

Increased heart rate, panic, mood changes like sudden anger or sadness, and a scary thing called ego dissolution.

心率加快、恐慌、情緒變化（如突然憤怒或悲傷），以及一種叫做 "自我解體 "的可怕現象。

And that last one, also called ego death, is a dramatic alteration of how you perceive yourself.

最後一種也被稱為 "自我死亡"，是你對自己看法的巨大改變。

You sort of lose your sense of self entirely.

你會完全失去自我意識。

While it isn't always negative, ego dissolution and other elements of bad trips have led to some incredibly dangerous experiences, including suicides and accidental deaths.

雖然它並不總是負面的，但自我解體和其他不良旅行因素導致了一些令人難以置信的危險經歷，包括自殺和意外死亡。

And a bad trip isn't always over when it's over.

糟糕的旅行並不總是一結束就結束了。

By that I mean people can continue to be negatively affected by psychedelics long after the drugs should have worn off.

我的意思是，在迷幻藥的藥效消失很久之後，人們仍會繼續受到它的負面影響。

In one study, almost 9% of participants reported having bad trips that led to functional impairments for more than a day.

在一項研究中，將近 9% 的參與者報告說，曾有過導致功能障礙超過一天的糟糕旅行。

In another study, users reported increased levels of anxiety, struggles with social interactions, problems thinking clearly, and other difficulties for weeks to years following the use of psychedelics.

在另一項研究中，使用者報告說，在使用迷幻藥後的數週至數年內，他們的焦慮程度、社會交往能力、思維清晰度以及其他困難都會增加。

Bad trips are fairly common, too.

糟糕的旅行也很常見。

One study found that about 40% of their participants who used psychedelics had experienced one at some point.

一項研究發現，在使用迷幻藥的參與者中，約有 40% 的人曾經有過這樣的經歷。

So the big question is, why do these things happen to some people and not others?

是以，最大的問題是，為什麼這些事情會發生在某些人身上，而不是其他人身上？

There are a number of factors involved, and not all of them have been fully determined.

這其中涉及許多因素，而且並非所有因素都已完全確定。

But it won't surprise you to learn that neurotransmitters are at least part of the answer.

但是，如果你知道神經遞質至少是答案的一部分，你就不會感到驚訝了。

The most famous neurotransmitter associated with psychedelics is serotonin.

與迷幻藥有關的最有名的神經遞質是血清素。

That's the one that's often associated with happiness.

這就是經常與幸福聯繫在一起的那個人。

You'll see a lot of people mention getting a boost of serotonin from endlessly scrolling for memes.

你會看到很多人提到，通過無休止地瀏覽備忘錄，他們的血清素得到了提升。

It's me.

是我

I'm people.

我是人。

Psychedelic drugs trigger the serotonin receptors in your brain, which are involved with mood and memory.

迷幻藥會觸發大腦中與情緒和記憶有關的血清素受體。

That may be partly responsible for the high experience by many people who take these drugs.

這可能是許多服用這些藥物的人感到興奮的部分原因。

But recently, studies have shown that a less famous neurotransmitter is correlated with bad trips.

但最近的研究表明，一種不太出名的神經遞質與糟糕的旅行有關。

Glutamate.

穀氨酸

Thank you to our incredible patrons on Patreon, like the Presidents of Science, McLaren Stanley and Charlie Stanley.

感謝我們 Patreon 上令人難以置信的贊助人，如科學院院長麥克拉倫-斯坦利（McLaren Stanley）和查理-斯坦利（Charlie Stanley）。

In most cases, you can only have one president in office at a time, but science transcends those rules.

在大多數情況下，同一時間只能有一位總統在位，但科學超越了這些規則。

It answers to accuracy.

它的答案是準確。

If you'd like to become the next president of science, doing what you can to fill your algorithm with accurate stories, you can start your campaign over at patreon.com slash scishow.

如果你想成為下一任科學總統，盡你所能，讓你的算法充滿準確的故事，你可以在 patreon.com slash scishow 開始你的競選活動。

Let's be clear, glutamate is pretty much everywhere in your brain.

我們要清楚，穀氨酸在大腦中幾乎無處不在。

It's an excitatory neurotransmitter.

它是一種興奮性神經遞質。

It's like an on-switch, meaning it triggers various activities in your central nervous system.

它就像一個開關，能觸發中樞神經系統的各種活動。

So just having a lot of it doesn't tell us much.

是以，僅僅擁有很多並不能說明什麼。

But one study looked at the level of glutamate in a specific part of the brain after using psychedelics.

但有一項研究觀察了使用迷幻藥後大腦特定部位的穀氨酸水準。

The study gathered people who had previous experience with the drugs and gave half of them a psychedelic and the other half a placebo.

這項研究收集了曾經使用過藥物的人，給其中一半人服用迷幻藥，另一半人服用安慰劑。

Each participant got an MRI scan when the drug effects were believed to be at their peak.

每位參與者都在藥物作用被認為達到頂峰時接受了核磁共振掃描。

In the scans with the experience of the participants, the researchers found that people who had higher levels of glutamate in the medial prefrontal cortex were more likely to experience negative ego disillusion.

在對參與者的經歷進行掃描時，研究人員發現，內側前額葉皮層中谷氨酸水準較高的人更容易經歷消極的自我幻滅。

Now, the brain has created some complex and confusing words to describe itself.

現在，大腦創造了一些複雜而混亂的詞彙來描述自己。

So let's briefly break down what the medial prefrontal cortex is.

是以，讓我們來簡單分析一下什麼是內側前額葉皮層。

Believe it or not, it's right at the front of your brain, in your frontal lobe.

信不信由你，它就在你的大腦前部，在你的額葉。

And the medial prefrontal cortex is involved with emotional regulation, among other things.

而內側前額葉皮層參與情緒調節等。

Those elevated glutamate levels in this region were strong predictors of increased levels of anxiety in the participants, because glutamate controls behaviors associated with stress.

該區域穀氨酸水準的升高是參與者焦慮水準升高的有力預測因素，因為穀氨酸控制著與壓力相關的行為。

Basically, it turned on that anxiety.

從根本上說，這就是焦慮在作祟。

So that may have contributed to their bad trips.

是以，這可能是他們旅行不順的原因之一。

I know there are evolutionary benefits to stress and anxiety, but sometimes I really wish they didn't have an on switch.

我知道壓力和焦慮對進化有好處，但有時我真希望它們沒有開關。

There are also non-brain chemistry factors that may contribute to someone's likelihood of having a bad trip.

還有一些非腦部化學因素也可能導致旅行失敗。

Researchers suggest that high dosages may lead to them.

研究人員認為，高劑量可能會導致它們。

If too much of a good thing is bad, too much of an illegal and unregulated substance probably isn't great either.

如果說好東西吃多了不好，那麼非法和不受管制的物質吃多了可能也不好。

People who study this also emphasize the importance of set and setting.

研究這個問題的人還強調了設定和設置的重要性。

Set being the person's mood and mental state, setting being the physical environment in which someone is taking the drug.

Set 是指人的情緒和精神狀態，set 是指人服藥時所處的物理環境。

Basically, if you're going to take psychedelics, the general recommendation is to be in a generally positive state of mind and a safe place.

基本上，如果你要服用迷幻藥，一般的建議是處於總體上積極的精神狀態和安全的地方。

Now, are bad trips really all that bad?

現在，糟糕的旅行真的那麼糟糕嗎？

Yes, absolutely, they are terrifying and dangerous.

是的，絕對是這樣，它們很可怕，也很危險。

But that's not to say it's impossible to pull something valuable from said terrifying and dangerous experience.

但這並不是說不可能從這種可怕而危險的經歷中獲得有價值的東西。

Some people have reported bad trips opening their minds to things they have repressed, allowing them to work through those challenges.

有些人報告說，糟糕的旅行讓他們對壓抑的事情敞開了心扉，使他們能夠克服這些挑戰。

Others report that ego dissolution provided them the opportunity to look at themselves from a different perspective, giving them the space to make positive change in themselves and their mental state.

還有人報告說，自我解體為他們提供了從不同角度審視自己的機會，為他們提供了積極改變自己和精神狀態的空間。

Those are the kinds of experiences that are believed to make psychedelics useful for therapeutic purposes.

這些體驗被認為是迷幻藥的治療作用所在。

They're being studied as treatments for disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

目前正在研究用它們來治療抑鬱症、焦慮症、成癮症和創傷後應激障礙等疾病。

It's incredibly important to recognize the risks involved with the use of psychedelic drugs.

認識到使用迷幻藥的風險非常重要。

But we're making progress on our journey to understanding these chemicals and our own brains, and that's not such a bad trip to be on.

但是，我們在瞭解這些化學物質和我們自己的大腦的道路上正在取得進展，這並不是一個糟糕的旅程。