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Related Experiment Videos

Psychotropic substance-seeking: evolutionary pathology or adaptation?

R J Sullivan1, E H Hagen

  • 1Department of Anthropology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. roger_s@ihug.co.nz

Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|April 20, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Human substance use may stem from a deep, millions-of-years-old coevolutionary relationship with psychotropic plants, not just a modern environmental mismatch. This ancient connection influenced our biology and suggests a substance-rich evolutionary past.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Anthropology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Conventional evolutionary views attribute human substance use to a mismatch between ancient emotional mechanisms and modern drug availability.
  • This perspective posits that humans evolved in an environment devoid of pure drugs and direct administration routes.

Observation:

  • Mammals possess evolved adaptations to metabolize psychotropic plant substances.
  • Plant defensive chemicals mimic mammalian neurotransmitters, interfering with their function.
  • Archeological and historical evidence indicates widespread substance use in antiquity.

Findings:

  • Humans have a coevolutionary relationship with psychotropic plants dating back millions of years.
  • This deep-time relationship is evident in biological adaptations and plant chemical structures.

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  • Substance use was likely a common, everyday practice in ancient human societies.

    • Implications:

    • The 'mismatch' concept for substance use needs revision to include a substance-rich evolutionary history.
    • Ancient exploitation of plant chemicals may have offered selective benefits, such as substituting for endogenous neurotransmitters.
    • While historically adaptive, substance-seeking behaviors may not be in the contemporary environment.