The brains of people with Asperger's syndrome exhibit substantial structural differences in a variety of regions. Perhaps most relevant to this contemplation, Asperger's patients exhibit significant structural differences in their fronto‐striatal circuits, which function as a kind of communications hub between frontal cortices and those regions of the brain tasked with coordinating cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functions. The net result of this fronto-striatal anomaly is a marked deficit in sensory gating, which is a process by which the brain separates relevant stimulus from irrelevant stimulus for further processing.
Because of this deficit in sensory gating, the brains of Asperger's patients are coping with an excess of irrelevant and redundant stimulus circulating throughout the brain, manifesting as repetitive thoughts, behaviours, speech patterns, and difficulty navigating complex social tasks. In normal brains, one of the hallmark neurological effects of psychedelic drugs is a destabilization of sensory gating, and indeed this is a central component of the radical shift in thought and perception characteristic to psychedelic drugs. Because this is true, Asperger's patients risk an amplification of the existing sensory gating anomalies underpinning their symptoms.
Considerable anxiogenic potential exists with all psychedelic drugs, such that psychedelic drugs may induce or amplify panic attacks. With that said, studies are underway exploring the utility of psychedelic drugs in tandem with psychotherapy as a treatment for anxiety disorders. If you suffer from panic disorder, psychedelic drugs could conceivably have a beneficial role in treating it, but at the present time that sort of experiment is best confined to a controlled, clinical setting.
Alprazolam (Xanax) works by increasing the efficiency of the brain's inhibitory framework. It does this by enhancing GABAergic neurotransmission. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter distributed throughout the brain, and functions as a "stop" signal for firing neurons. This mechanism counteracts the excitatory mechanisms inherent to all psychedelic drugs, thereby placing a ceiling on their effects, completely or partially blockading them in a dose-dependent manner. While alprazolam could be used as a buffer against the anxiogenic effects of psychedelic drugs, this necessarily entails buffering against the complete spectrum of their effects.
The decision to ingest any psychoactive drug is a risk-benefit analysis. Qualitatively speaking, in your circumstance the risks are higher than the average person's, but a quantitative analysis of their extent is extremely difficult to pin down. There are just too many variables involved to reliably predict an outcome. If the benefit you are seeking is a "pleasant time", in my view the risks probably outweigh it.
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Xanax really decrease the intensity of a trip. My personal experience tells me that mushrooms will most likely do wonders for your brain. But, you have to forgo the xanax while using them. Anxiety happens, but once the mushrooms fully kick in, there's a good chance you'll just be laughing. If things go south, it sounds like you have plenty of xanax on hand to abort the trip.
The thing about mushrooms, is that they allow you to see and experience your world from an entirely different perspective. At the same time, while you're experiencing intense waves of joy and euphoria, the psylocybin is going to work in your brain, turning of the chatter and building new pathways for communication. Mushrooms, literally heal your brain and are known for their neurogenesis properties.
Having aspergers has probably made for a rather uncomfortable life. Perhaps mushrooms can help you find a little bit of peace and comfort that it sounds like you are so unfamiliar with.
Best of luck, and please keep us updated, as this is an area of study that I am highly interested in.
-------------------- (¯`'·.¸(♥)¸.·'´¯) But suddenly you're ripped into being alive. And life is pain, and life is suffering, and life is horror, but my god you are alive and it is spectacular!
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