For millennia, psychonauts have ingested both natural and man-made substances to see the world in new ways. Now, brain scans and other studies reveal how these buzz-builders work, helping scientists harness their power for good and expose the roots of addiction.
Scroll over the image below to see how each drug affects your brain.
Illustration by Serge Seidlitz
This article was originally published in the January/February 2017 issue of Popular Science, under the title “Your Brain on Drugs.”