Psychoactive drug

The chemical compound acetylcholine (often abbreviated ACh) is a neurotransmitter in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) in many organisms including humans. Acetylcholine is one of many neurotransmitters in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the only neurotransmitter used in the motor division of the somatic nervous system.

Adenosine is a nucleoside composed of a molecule of adenine attached to a ribose sugar molecule (ribofuranose) Adenosine plays an important role in biochemical processes, such as energy transfer—as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP)—as well as in signal transduction as cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cAMP.moiety via a β-N9-glycosidic bond.

The cannabinoid receptors are a class of cell membrane receptors under the G-protein coupled receptor superfamily.[1][2][3] Cannabinoid receptors are activated by ligands, which are lipid compounds known collectively as cannabinoids. Further distinction of these ligands separates endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), which are generated naturally inside the body, from exogenous cannabinoids.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area.

The melanocortins are a group of peptide hormones which include adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and the different forms of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH). They can be synthetic (created in a lab) or endogenously produced from proopiomelanocortin (POMC) in the pituitary gland.

Noradrenaline (BAN) (abbreviated NA or NAd) or norepinephrine (INN) (abbreviated norepi or NE) is a catecholamine with dual roles as a hormone and a neurotransmitter.As a stress hormone, norepinephrine affects parts of the brain where attention and responding actions are controlled. Along with epinephrine, norepinephrine also underlies the fight-or-flight response, directly increasing heart rate, triggering the release of glucose from energy stores, and increasing blood flow to skeletal muscle.

Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter. It is found extensively in the gastrointestinal tract of animals, and about 80 to 90 percent of the human body's total serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the gut, where it is used to regulate intestinal movements.[