Motivation and emotion/Book/2025/Affect regulation via psychoactive drugs

Affect regulation via psychoactive drugs:
How do psychoactive drugs function as emotion regulation tools?

Overview

Figure 1. What do psychoactive drugs look like? Case study Alexander is a 22-year-old university psychology student who has experienced anxiety and depression since he was 15. Despite Alexander and his parent's continued efforts, no treatment seems to make a long term difference in his mental health. In one of his psychology lectures, Alexander's professor mentions a clinical trial being run for the uses of ketamine infusions to manage treatment resistant depression, and Alexander chooses to speak to his therapist, who then relates him to the clinical trial. Despite side effects such as headaches, dizziness and occasional bouts of anxiety (Baek & Hasassri, 2022), Alexander exhibits a significant improvement in his mood and emotional state.

Psychoactive drugs (see Figure 1) are any type of drug that impacts the central nervous system . Stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens are three of an extensive list of such psychoactive drugs that can impact mood in different ways. Ketamine has been successfully used to treat depression as seen in case study 1, however other drugs such as psilocybin are being introduced to treat other issues. (De Gregorio et al., 2021) Affect regulation is another term for how someone is able to adapt and manage ones own emotions, depending on the situation and circumstances faced by them. In cases where people have used or overused psychoactive drugs, affect regulation can be influenced both positively and negatively as the brain neurochemistry is changed, which can lead to a host of illnesses and disorders, both temporary and permanent.

Focus questions What is affect regulation and how does this relate to psychoactive drugs? How do psychoactive drugs influence neurochemistry within the brain? How do neurochemical changes influence affect regulation? What are the differences in the impacts of stimulants vs depressants vs hallucinogens on affect regulation? How are psychoactive drugs used to manage emotions inside of a clinical setting?

What is affect regulation and how is it impacted by psychoactive drugs?

Affect regulation is the ability for someone to adapt and control their mood, such as staying calm under pressure and not getting overexcited or overly angry at minor inconveniences (Ilagan, 2023). People with good affect regulation are able to moderate their mood when under stress and handle their emotions without becoming overwhelmed.

Psychoactive drugs are any substance that influence how the central nervous system works and changes the function, behaviour or mood of the person consuming them. As mentioned above, psychoactive drugs can come in many forms such as stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens, all of which have their own impact upon the brain and its functions. This chapter identifies what the relationship between psychoactive drugs and affect regulation is, and whether psychoactive drugs have a positive impact on affect regulation, a negative impact on affect regulation or both. This chapter also explains some of the more prominent research on this topic and investigate why these two topics are related. Finally, this chapter explores the differences between the interactions of the 3 aforementioned categories of psychoactive drugs and how they differ in their interactions on the brain, and how this could relate to affect regulation positively or negatively.

The importance of this study

Understanding why and how psychoactive drugs can be and are used as emotional regulation tools is vital for multiple fields and for a variety of bodies, including the government, medical workers and researchers and for the population in general. Understanding how these drugs are used is crucial for understanding how addiction works. Over-dependence on psychoactive drugs as a means to regulate emotions can lead to severe side effects, especially when not done in a clinical environment. The impact of psychoactive drugs and its uses on managing emotion is also a useful research field as these drugs may be able to treat mental health issues as seen in the first case study. In cases such as these, where other treatments are ineffective, these psychoactive drugs were able to treat the issue with reasonably high efficacy. This chapter is also important in understanding how psychoactive drugs can influence emotional regulation theory, or the theory that emotions are governed by one's environment, as if people are surrounded by drugs that take away one's ability to control their own emotions or regulate their own environment, then is the person regulating their drug use, or is the drug use regulating one's emotions and by proxy, the individual.

Psychological science and its impacts upon both research and informing people about the effects

Psychological science is very relevant in the study of psychoactive drugs and their effects. The study of psychopharmacology can be vital in determining how a drug interacts with the brain and the chemicals that are produced. This is how people come to understand how psychoactive drugs can imitate the brain's natural response and impact the release of chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin, which influence someone's mood. Psychological science in this field is also important as it can be used as a tool to inform the population of the effects of a drug in order to protect them or to discourage the use of certain drugs and influence the use of safer alternatives.

Key points

• Studies have demonstrated that different psychoactive drugs (stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens) can impact learning and emotional processes differently. Some can influence the encoding stage of memory, others the stabilisation stage and others can impact the retrieval stage of memories. (Doss et al., 2023)
• Psychoactive drugs can be abused and an over-reliance on these can cause issues such as alexithymia or addiction and an inability to regulate ones emotions without the use of psychoactive drugs. (Wiśniewski et al., 2021)
• Finally, psychoactive drugs can have a very positive effect in treating mental health disorders that can be treatment resistant such as depression or suicidal ideation. There are also several legal psychoactive drugs that are legal and very frequently used such as caffeine or tobacco. (Peckham, 2023)

Relationship between affect regulation and psychoactive substances

How does the body regulate emotions and adapt to scenarios?

Figure 2. The location of some of the structures within the limbic system

The primary structures that are involved in regulating emotions (See figure 2 for locations of some of these).

Hippocampus

The hippocampus serves as the memory centre of the brain. It stores new memories, and is crucial in connecting memories with senses. This plays a role in the body adapting to scenarios, such as associating the thought of ones parents with a sense of love, or ones childhood home with a sense of nostalgia (University of Queensland, 2019) . This is not purely done with positive emotions however, and plays a role in associating memories with emotion in conjunction with the amygdala.

Amygdala

Working with the hippocampus, the amygdala serves to attach an emotional segment to memories. While the hippocampus makes new episodic memories, the amygdala attaches a sense such as fear, happiness or anger to these memories. The amygdala also plays a vital role in emotional responses and in fear based responses, as stimulation within this region can induct a fear response (University of Queensland, 2019) . In partnership with the hypothalamus, the amygdala can induce the fight or flight response, through detecting a danger or a hazard, and sending a signal to the hypothalamus.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus' main role is the regulation of factors that control hormone release from the pituitary gland (Goel et al, 2024). It acts as a pathway between emotional stimuli such as stress or fear and a physiological response to said stimuli. It receives input from sources such as the amygdala and turns this input into a physiological response.

Basal Ganglia

The basal ganglia serves to function as the reward centre of the brain. When someone feels good about doing something, that is due to the basal ganglia releasing dopamine, which is known as the reward neurotransmitter (Schultz, 2016). This is a prominent organ in addiction due to some drugs activating this release mechanism when used, promoting drug use and drug seeking behaviour (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2016).

Thalamus

The thalamus serves as a relay station for stimuli and relays this from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex. The thalamus also processes all information from the body's senses before it is interpreted elsewhere (Cleveland Clinic, 2022) .

How do psychoactive drugs mimic these effects and their effects

Some psychoactive drugs are capable of performing a mimicry of some of the aforementioned structures within the limbic system. Drugs such as marijuana are able to influence how regions of this system receive and emit and process signals, leading to the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine (reward) or serotonin (feel good). In some psychoactive drugs, this is caused by the chemical structure of these drugs being similar or nearly identical to the structure of natural neurotransmitters, which allows them to activate the receptors within the sensors such as those within the limbic system (NIDA, 2020). Different drugs match different neurotransmitters, which helps explain why the effects change between different variants of drugs such as stimulants and depressants. The relationship between affect regulation and psychoactive drugs predominantly relies on this mimicry effect, where certain drugs, due to their similarity to regular, naturally occurring neurotransmitters are able to incite certain emotions and moods into people. This is what causes the effect of being high, with each drug inflicting a different high that may have different effects. For example, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or more commonly known as THC, one of the active ingredients in cannabis, acts to slow down signals sent and received within various regions of the brain (Wilson, 2019) (Leishman et al, 2019). By doing this, it causes a calming effect, as the body perceives this as there being less signals and thus, less stimulation. Due to regions of the brain, especially the aforementioned ones within the limbic system, having multiple functions, this explains why psychoactive drugs have many side effects such as impaired motor control, poor balance, or anxiety. Key points

• The central nervous system and the limbic system send and receive signals that lead to the body releasing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, all of which influence mood and behaviour within people.
• Psychoactive drugs cause effects by either impacting the sending and receiving of these signals, or by directly influencing the organs within the body, leading to changes in the way these signals are processed.
• This can be through speeding up amount of signals sent and received, slowing them down, or by directly influencing the amount of the neurotransmitters that are produced by mimicking the natural chemical makeup of the chemicals that would lead to the release of these neurotransmitters.

1

The thalamus relays information to the amygdala from elsewhere in the limbic system:

	True
	False

2

The structures within the limbic system only have one purpose:

	True
	False

3

Serotonin works as the 'feel good' neurotransmitter:

	True
	False

4

Drugs can mimic natural functions within the brain to influence mood and emotion:

	True
	False

Does the type of psychoactive drug matter?

Psychoactive drugs have differing effects depending on their class. Stimulants speed up the central nervous system, meaning the body sends and receives more signals, leading to the consumer having a high that makes them feel jittery and unable to sleep. Depressants act in the opposite way, slowing everything down so that consumers are more mellowed out, calm and relaxed. Hallucinogens have a completely different effect on both mood and behaviour (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2021).

Stimulants

One of the primary examples of a stimulant that is a psychoactive drug is caffeine. Caffeine is a part of many people's daily lives, whether it be in coffee, energy drinks, soft drinks or soda's or various teas and herbal mixes (Evans et al, 2024). Caffeine works by targeting adenosine receptors, which are responsible for the regulation of sleep within humans. Adenosine receptors are present throughout the human body, and caffeine targets all of them, which can lead to a wide variety of symptoms both positive and negative, such as muscle aches, confusion and a sense of wakefulness (Ann Pietrangelo et al, 2025). In relation to affect regulation, the key symptom of caffeine intake and usage is the irritability and confusion. These can both be a result of high caffeine intake and are the result of the brain being overstimulated as it is sending and receiving too many signals to process. The body also begins to rely upon caffeine if used regularly, and one may suffer withdrawal effects such as headaches and further irritability. Caffeine's effects are not just negative however, and its usage has been linked with a decrease in suicidal ideology and an increase in overall mood, but only in moderation, as high doses may exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and stress (Unsal & Sanlier, 2025). This indicates that stimulants are useful in affect regulation when used in moderation, due to their effect on overall mood and wakefulness.

Depressants

Depressants have a juxtaposing effect to stimulants. If stimulants can be considered mood "uppers", that would make depressants "downers". Depressants, such as cannabis and alcohol, slow down the amount of signals sent and received within the central nervous system and the rest of the body (Alcohol and Drug foundation, 2025). Like stimulants, depressants can have both positive and negative effects, but unlike stimulants, these effects have opposite effects . Drowsiness, impaired motor function and a sense of calm are 3 of the most common symptoms, and explain why it is illegal to drive or operate vehicles when under the influence of depressants. Cannabis has some curious effects, and displays some symptoms of being a stimulant, despite being a depressant. Cannabis, like many stimulants can cause paranoia, anxiety and heightened mood due to the way that it interacts with the central nervous system (Wilson, 2023). People who consume cannabis regularly can negatively impact their ability to regulate their mood without it, and may experience irritability or be generally unhappy or unpleasant without it. This is due to their natural processes becoming disused and they may develop emotional dysregulation (Cleveland clinic, 2023). This may result in wild mood swings, mania and impulsive behaviour, not dissimilar to the effects felt with bipolar 2. Depressants have various functions as emotional regulation tools, but when used in excess or overused and relied upon, can become drastically detrimental to the health of the consumer and their standalone ability to regulate their emotions.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens impact the consumers senses, changing the way that they perceive the world around them. LSD , one of the foremost hallucinogenic psychoactive drugs, impacts affect regulation by regulation the release of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the "feel good" neurotransmitter, and controls mood, behaviour and the senses (Mount Sinai, 2025). LSD has a wide range of impacts, predominantly upon how the brain processes senses. Some consumers report weird interactions with their senses such as being able to taste colours or see things that may not be present. LSD can also lead to people experiencing panic, anxiety and sadness during a "trip", and be unable to regulate these emotions (Kids Health, 2023). By interfering with the neurotransmitter serotonin, LSD and other hallucinogens are able to remove any control over affect regulation that a consumer has. This can lead to mania, depressive episodes, or drastically swinging moods in people, all of which is out of their control. Due to the way that LSD functions, regular consumers may need greater doses to achieve the same high, leading to people potentially developing hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), which can lead to consumers having flashbacks and symptoms of LSD use even when not actively under the influence. Prolonged usage of LSD and other hallucinogenic psychoactive drugs can lead to difficulty for consumers to regulate their own emotions, but can be used in the short term to treat depression, especially in clinical settings, as it can encourage the brain to release serotonin (Muller et al, 2025).

Nicotine

Nicotine is a difficult psychoactive drug to classify, despite being the most commonly used alongside alcohol and caffeine. While being primarily classed as a stimulant, it has many active effects of being a depressant, such as relaxing and calming the user, rather than energising the user, as stimulants are known to do. Nicotine primarily increases mood and alertness by releasing dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (Ashton et al, 1973). Dopamine and serotonin, as previously mentioned are the "reward" and "feel good" neurotransmitters whereas norepinephrine controls alertness and arousal. Due to the release of dopamine caused when smoked, nicotine is highly addictive, as the body craves the release of dopamine and the innate reward and pleasure that comes with the nicotine. As with many of the psychoactive drugs mentioned within this chapter, long term overuse of nicotine can lead to a breakdown of the consumer's ability to naturally produce the aforementioned neurotransmitters, leading to chronic disorders such as anhedonia,which is the inability or reduced capacity for someone to feel pleasure. This is often correlated with high levels of prolonged drug usage, and occurs in many other mental illnesses such as depression or schizophrenia. Nicotine impacts affect regulation by providing short term calming effects, as well as providing a sense of alertness and increasing the mood within the consumer, however in the longterm, this can lead to consumers being unable to regulate their own mood without relying on nicotine or nicotine replacements.

The use of psychoactive drugs in a clinical treatment setting

This section presents 2 case studies of current and future research into how psychoactive drugs may be able to help with affect regulation in cases where people are unable to resistant to other types of medication or treatment. The effects of both of these case studies are still being studied and self medicating can be extremely harmful to ones health and can lead to dependance on the medication, or lead to complications including permanent health issues and death (gateway foundation, 2021).

Case Study - The current use of ketamine infusions for people with major depressive disorder and bipolar 1

While the use of psychoactive drugs has traditionally negative connotations, studies have shown that there are many clinical uses of drugs such as ketamine, LSD or MDMA to treat mental health issues. In this study Ketamine was used to treat a range of mental health issues in a clinical setting. Depression, suicidal ideation, post traumatic stress disorder and generalised anxiety disorder were all managed via very small doses in patients who had already proven that other means such as cognitive-behavioural therapy were ineffective (Willms et al., 2022). This case study is not alone, other studies have demonstrated that ketamine infusions are effective in the short term at managing and improving symptoms in people who suffer from bipolar type 1 and major depressive disorder (Gałuszko-Wȩgielnik et al, 2021) This is especially important as bipolar type 1 includes both manic and major depressive episodes, which implies that ketamine infusions are able to reduce extreme mood fluctuations and allow for the person who is affected to regulate their own emotional state far better than without the drug. This treatment was also shown to be effective in those who suffered from major depressive disorder or MDD. In the aforementioned study by Gałuszko-Wȩgielnik et al, 4 patients achieved remission from any symptoms, with most of the patients not suffering from any severe side effects. Once again, this demonstrates the efficacy of ketamine infusions in allowing for a patient to regulate their emotions where they might not otherwise be able to.

Case Study - Future use of psilocybin

Psilocybin or magic mushrooms is a new treatment method that could potentially have uses for a range of different conditions such as major depressive disorder, anxiety and alcohol and nicotine dependencies (alcohol and drug foundation, 2024). Psilocybin treatment for depression has been thoroughly researched and has been an accepted practice in Australia since July, 2023, and can be prescribed by licensed psychiatrists. The potential of psilocybin ranges far beyond solely treating treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Currently, there are 3 trials ongoing within Australia into the uses for psilocybin as a treatment for severe anxiety, reducing methamphetamine usage within people with addictions and dependancies, and in reducing anxiety and depression in terminally ill patients. The research into the use of magic mushrooms to treat addiction and dependancy in tobacco, nicotine and alcohol has been hampered by government regulations during the 1960s and 70s, however there has been a recent resurgence in the research that demonstrates a high efficacy for this usage (van der Meer et al, 2023). This is crucial as it indicates that psilocybin and other hallucinogenics maybe be able to moderate dopamine dependencies that result from overuse of tobacco and alcohol, and help the body naturally begin to regulate its own dopamine release without the need of substances. This means the psilocybin may be able to improve peoples natural affect regulation in certain circumstances, however research is still ongoing and psychoactive drug use is not without risks, even within clinical trials and supervised use.

Quiz

1

Psychoactive drugs are used in a clinical setting for research and to develop cures for illnesses and diseases :

	True
	False

2

Psychoactive drugs are always bad no matter the scenario:

	True
	False

3

Cocaine was used to treat depression in the first case study:

	True
	False

4

It is always safe to do psychoactive drugs during clinical trials:

	True
	False

Conclusion

Psychoactive drugs function as emotion regulation tools by mimicking natural procedures, signals, and chemical makeup of neurotransmitters within the body to fool it into speeding up or slowing down signals to and from the central nervous system, or by influencing how these signals are processed within the limbic system in the first place. Affect regulation is the ability for the body to adapt and regulate its emotions regardless of the environment and external stimuli. Psychoactive drugs can influence the capability of the body to do this naturally and lead to dependencies on said drugs in order to function. Conversely, psychoactive drugs can also entice the body into functioning after periods of diminished function due to disorders such as major depressive disorder or anxiety. Psychoactive drugs can mimic the natural chemical makeup of neurotransmitter in order to bond with the neurons within the brain, leading the brain to produce neurotransmitters such as dopamine or serotonin, changing the way a person feels and acts. Relying on psychoactive drugs too much to do this can lead to the body being unable to function and produce these neurotransmitters without the use of psychoactive drugs, leading to addiction among other illnesses. Stimulants are any psychoactive drug that speed up the functions of the central nervous system, depressants do the opposite and slow it down, whereas hallucinogens directly impact the signals sent and received within the body, changing how the consumer perceives the world. Finally, psychoactive drugs are used in order to treat medical conditions like treatment resistant depression and in some cases, addiction to nicotine and alcohol. Psychoactive drugs can mimic the bodies natural process of affect regulation in the short-term to encourage the body to start functioning on it's own in some cases, kickstarting it to an extent. The major take home is that while taking psychoactive drugs recreationally can have some sever negative effects, they can have uses when under clinical direction, and the study of the impacts of these drugs is ongoing and promising for the future.

See also

• Addiction (Wikipedia)
• Affect Regulation (Wikipedia)
• Anhedonia (Wikipedia)
• Dopamine and drug addiction (Book chapter, 2017)
• Psychoactive drugs (Wikipedia)
• Psychopharmacology (Wikipedia)

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