Substance Index

Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen that produce delirium: a state of confusion, an inability to tell hallucinations from reality, and frequent amnesia afterward. Deliriants block acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that the brain needs for memory, attention, and a stable view of the real world. Psychedelics and dissociatives usually cause hallucinations that the user knows are unreal. Deliriants instead produce "true" hallucinations, which the user cannot tell apart from reality. This difference makes deliriants the most disorienting of the three subclasses. The name comes from the Latin delirare, which means "to go off the track."