Washington: Lysergic acid diethylamide – more commonly known as ‘LSD’ or ‘acid’ – gets trapped into the receptor cells in the brain for hours, say scientists who have explained why the drug is one of the longest lasting and most potent hallucinogens. Scientists captured images of an LSD molecule bound to a human serotonin receptor and discovered that the LSD molecule was wedged into the receptor’s binding pocket at an angle no one had expected. On top of that, part of the receptor protein had folded in over the LSD like a lid, sealing the drug inside.
“Once LSD gets in the receptor, a lid comes over the LSD, so it’s basically trapped in the receptor and can’t get out,” said Bryan Roth, a professor at University of North Carolina in the US. “LSD takes a really long time to get on the receptor, and then once it gets on, it doesn’t get off,” he said. The finding explains why LSD trips last for a full day, even though LSD doses are extremely small – the average dose is 100 or so microgrammes – and LSD molecules are cleared from the bloodstream in a couple of hours.
