 Psychotropic plants created by the Centre of Excellence, narrated by Jane Branch Centre of Excellence Psychotropic Plants Module 1 Psychopharmacology Your own beliefs will determine how you feel about the fact that a good number of plants growing around the planet contain constituents which can perfectly interact with our nervous system for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. Was it a sublime stroke of luck, intelligent design or something else? Historically we see plants that acted psychotropically were held in high esteem by our ancestors from all corners of the globe, for a plant to have such a profound effect on the fabric of a person and their psyche led them to attach spirits, gods, goddesses and even the devil to them as they attempted to make sense of it. Throughout these modules we'll see evidence that our ancestors were highly skilled in the use of these plants and despite the lack of scientific research they had a good idea what could be achieved in using them but what does modern science tell us is happening when we consume a psychotropic plant? What is this curious relationship between two kingdoms, plant kingdom and the animal kingdom? To gain a better understanding let's start with us and the study of our nervous system. What is the nervous system? Structurally our nervous system is divided into the central and the peripheral nervous system with the central nervous system comprised of the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system including all the bundles of nerve fibres that run down through the body from the central nervous system. It's also divided up on a functional basis too with a somatic nervous system in charge of our special senses and conscious decisions like movement and the autonomic system in charge of all the unconscious and visceral activity in our body like digestion. A number of cells make up the nervous system. Neurons are the nerve cells that transmit and receive information. Some send messages to the brain, others send messages from the brain to another area of the body. Psychotropic plants contain active constituents that communicate with neurons and can either trigger or halt certain messages that the... Sample complete. Ready to continue?