Intoxicating minds

Intoxicating minds is exactly what the title suggests: a text about brain drugs and drugged brains. Mind bending drugs are the order of the day, including those used to bend the mind back to "normal" and those so commonly used that their effects are taken for granted. The gamut of psychoactive pharmacology is sampled and discussed-alcohol and nicotine, uppers and downers, hallucinogens and psychedelics, and tea and coffee.

This book comes with a good pedigree. As so often promised by the blurb of brain books, it is written by a leading brain researcher, Professor Ciaran Regan. Evidently, it is also part of an Open University series called Maps of the Mind. It is not an encyclopaedia of drugs and does not attempt to be comprehensive. Its chapters are organised in themes rather than "everything you need to know" about this or that drug. The chapter titles are ambiguous and do not aid navigation around the text, although there is a helpful index. Regan discusses the effects, pharmacology, and historical context of a varied range of drugs in a clear, accessible style.

As I read the book, all of the right memory bells started ringing, from neuroscience and pharmacology to psychiatry. I did not find a great deal that was new, but plenty of what I (once) knew was covered. The obligatory introductory chapter on neurone communication and neurotransmitters was well written, and you'll certainly have struggled through worse. Unfortunately, the appropriate and useful figures and tables are not referred to in the text (so you might miss them). The reader is not overwhelmed by extensive referencing, although big names and major theories are mentioned. Regan does not try to be at the cutting edge (read Nature if that's what you want) or propose radical new theories but offers a decent review of recent understanding and current knowledge in psychopharmacology.

Clearly, the topic is an interesting one, and it is well handled. While you will be revising some learning, the historical detail adds considerable depth and interest. This is most evident in the chapter on hallucinogens and psychedelics, which discusses the history of these drugs' use going back thousands of years: shamans' use of these substances and the association of a potent mix with witches' flight (they spread it on their broomsticks) is discussed alongside contemporary writers' use of LSD. In another chapter the evolution of our understanding of the mechanisms and pharmacology of depression and schizophrenia is recounted up to the (limited) present knowledge.

This is a smashing little book. It isn't really a text that will help you pass exams, but it contains a lot of interesting information. An extensive bibliography is provided, so you can follow up aspects that have stimulated your interest-there will be several.

Sally­Ann S Price, fourth year medical student, University of Leeds
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studentBMJ 2001;09:261-304 August ISSN 0966-6494