Oneirogen

An oneirogen, from the Greek ὄνειρος óneiros meaning "dream" and gen "to create", is a substance that induces a dream-like state of consciousness.^[1] Oneirogens function by altering neural processing in a way that shifts the brain from bottom-up sensory input to top-down generative activity, resembling the mechanisms involved in dreaming.^[1] This neural shift is associated with increased internal imagery and reduced responsiveness to external stimuli.^[1] Psychedelics—particularly those acting on the 5-HT2A receptor—produce oneirogenic effects by promoting this altered balance of neural signaling.^[1]

List of oneirogens

Calea zacatechichi ("Calea ternifolia") has been traditionally used in Central America as a believed way to potentiate lucid dreams and perform dream divination. It can promote dreams vivid to the senses, sight, scent, hearing, touch, and taste. May be taken as a tea or smoked.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
Entada rheedii ("African dream bean")^[4]
Mugwort,^[4] see Artemisia douglasiana
Silene undulata (also known as "Silene capensis" or "African dream root") is used by the Xhosa people of South Africa to induce lucid dreams.^[5]^[6]^[7] It has been found to contain β-carbolines and ibogaine.^[7]

List of possible oneirogens

Diphenhydramine ("Benadryl") can invoke an intense hypnagogic REM-like microsleep often indifferentiable from reality. It accomplishes this by blocking various acetylcholine receptors in the brain.^[8]
Galantamine was shown to increase lucid dreaming by 27% at 4 mg and 42% at 8 mg in a 2018 double-blind study lasting three nights.^[9]
Ibogaine^[10]
Melatonin and Ramelteon may cause vivid dreams as a side effect^{[citation needed]}^[5]
Mirtazapine^[11]
Muscimol^[12]

Hallucinogenic oneirogens

Tabernanthe iboga (iboga) is a perennial rainforest shrub native to West Africa. An evergreen bush indigenous to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo, it is cultivated across West Africa. In African traditional medicine and rituals, the yellowish root or bark is used to produce hallucinations and near-death outcomes, with some fatalities occurring.^[13]^[14]
Psilocybe mushrooms and their active ingredients psilocin and psilocybin^[15]

Disputed oneirogens

Valerian (herb) – A study conducted in the UK in 2001 showed that valerian root significantly improved stress induced insomnia, but as a side effect greatly increased the vividness of dreams. This study concluded that valerian root affects REM due to natural chemicals and essential oils that stimulate serotonin and opioid receptors. Another study found no encephalographic changes in subjects under its influence.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Nonchemical oneirogens

Mindfulness practices could be useful in achieving lucid dream.^[19]
Sleep deprivation can make dreams more intense, which is caused by REM rebound effect ^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bredenberg C, Normandin F, Richards B, Lajoie G (2024-09-30), The oneirogen hypothesis: modeling the hallucinatory effects of classical psychedelics in terms of replay-dependent plasticity mechanisms, bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2024.09.27.615483, retrieved 2025-05-24
^ Mossoba ME, Flynn TJ, Vohra S, Wiesenfeld P, Sprando RL (2016). "Evaluation of "Dream Herb," Calea zacatechichi, for Nephrotoxicity Using Human Kidney Proximal Tubule Cells". J Toxicol. 2016: 9794570. doi:10.1155/2016/9794570. PMC 5040790. PMID 27703475.
^ Sałaga M, Fichna J, Socała K, Nieoczym D, Pieróg M, Zielińska M, Kowalczuk A, Wlaź P (June 2016). "Neuropharmacological characterization of the oneirogenic Mexican plant Calea zacatechichi aqueous extract in mice". Metab Brain Dis. 31 (3): 631–41. doi:10.1007/s11011-016-9794-1. PMC 4863909. PMID 26821073.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Oneirogens - BurnZero Pharmacopeia".
^ ^a ^b ^c Sanz C, Zamberlan F, Erowid E, Erowid F, Tagliazucchi E (2018). "The Experience Elicited by Hallucinogens Presents the Highest Similarity to Dreaming within a Large Database of Psychoactive Substance Reports". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 12: 7. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00007. ISSN 1662-453X. PMC 5786560. PMID 29403350.
^ Sobiecki J (December 2008). "A review of plants used in divination in southern Africa and their psychoactive effects". South African Humanities. 20 (2): 333–351. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b Alhawarri MB, Olimat S (2025). "Potential Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Agonist of Psychoactive Components of Silene undulata Aiton: LC-MS/MS, ADMET, and Molecular Docking Studies". Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 26 (2): 260–275. doi:10.2174/0113892010299804240324140017. PMID 38561607.
^ "Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride Injection, USP" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-17.
^ LaBerge (August 2018). "Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study". PLOS ONE. 13 (8): e0201246. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1301246L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201246. PMC 6082533. PMID 30089135.
^ Schenberg EE, Comis MA, Alexandre JF, Tófoli LF, Chaves BD, Silveira DX (2017-11-01). "A phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience elicited by ibogaine in the context of a drug dependence treatment". Journal of Psychedelic Studies. 1 (2): 74–83. doi:10.1556/2054.01.2017.007.
^ National Center for Biotechnology Information (2021). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 4205, Mirtazapine. Retrieved September 24, 2021 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Mirtazapine.
^ "Muscimol".
^ "Iboga". Drugs.com. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
^ Koenig X, Hilber K (29 January 2015). "The Anti-Addiction Drug Ibogaine and the Heart: A Delicate Relation". Molecules. 20 (2): 2208–2228. doi:10.3390/molecules20022208. ISSN 1420-3049. PMC 4382526. PMID 26807959.
^ Carhart-Harris R, Nutt D (2014). "Was it a vision or a waking dream?". Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 255. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00255. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 3983501. PMID 24772095.
^ Klepser TB, Klepser ME (1999). "Unsafe and potentially safe herbal therapies". Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 56 (12538): 125–38, quiz 139–41. doi:10.1093/ajhp/56.2.125. PMID 10030529.
^ Wong AH, Smith M, Boon HS (1998). "Herbal remedies in psychiatric practice". Arch Gen Psychiatry. 55 (103344): 1033–44. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.55.11.1033. PMID 9819073.
^ Miller LG (1998). "Herbal medicines. Selected clinical considerations focusing on known or potential drug-herb interactions". Arch Intern Med. 158 (220011): 2200–11. doi:10.1001/archinte.158.20.2200. PMID 9818800.
^ "The Link Between Mindfulness, Meditation, and Lucid Dreaming | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com.
^ Machado RB, Suchecki D (2016). "Neuroendocrine and Peptidergic Regulation of Stress-Induced REM Sleep Rebound". Frontiers in Endocrinology. 7: 163. doi:10.3389/fendo.2016.00163. PMC 5179577. PMID 28066328.

Sources

Schultes RE, Albert Hofmann (1979), Plants of the Gods: Origins of Hallucinogenic Use, New York: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-056089-7
Gianluca Toro, Benjamin Thomas (2007), Drugs of the Dreaming: Oneirogens: Salvia divinorum and Other Dream-Enhancing Plants, Park Street Press, ISBN 978-1594771743

External links

Media related to Oneirogens at Wikimedia Commons

[:1-1] Bredenberg C, Normandin F, Richards B, Lajoie G (2024-09-30), The oneirogen hypothesis: modeling the hallucinatory effects of classical psychedelics in terms of replay-dependent plasticity mechanisms, bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2024.09.27.615483, retrieved 2025-05-24

[2] Mossoba ME, Flynn TJ, Vohra S, Wiesenfeld P, Sprando RL (2016). "Evaluation of "Dream Herb," Calea zacatechichi, for Nephrotoxicity Using Human Kidney Proximal Tubule Cells". J Toxicol. 2016: 9794570. doi:10.1155/2016/9794570. PMC 5040790. PMID 27703475.

[3] Sałaga M, Fichna J, Socała K, Nieoczym D, Pieróg M, Zielińska M, Kowalczuk A, Wlaź P (June 2016). "Neuropharmacological characterization of the oneirogenic Mexican plant Calea zacatechichi aqueous extract in mice". Metab Brain Dis. 31 (3): 631–41. doi:10.1007/s11011-016-9794-1. PMC 4863909. PMID 26821073.

[:0-4] "Oneirogens - BurnZero Pharmacopeia".

[pmid29403350-5] Sanz C, Zamberlan F, Erowid E, Erowid F, Tagliazucchi E (2018). "The Experience Elicited by Hallucinogens Presents the Highest Similarity to Dreaming within a Large Database of Psychoactive Substance Reports". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 12: 7. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00007. ISSN 1662-453X. PMC 5786560. PMID 29403350.

[6] Sobiecki J (December 2008). "A review of plants used in divination in southern Africa and their psychoactive effects". South African Humanities. 20 (2): 333–351. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.

[AlhawarriOlimat2025-7] Alhawarri MB, Olimat S (2025). "Potential Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Agonist of Psychoactive Components of Silene undulata Aiton: LC-MS/MS, ADMET, and Molecular Docking Studies". Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 26 (2): 260–275. doi:10.2174/0113892010299804240324140017. PMID 38561607.

[8] "Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride Injection, USP" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-17.

[9] LaBerge (August 2018). "Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study". PLOS ONE. 13 (8): e0201246. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1301246L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201246. PMC 6082533. PMID 30089135.

[10] Schenberg EE, Comis MA, Alexandre JF, Tófoli LF, Chaves BD, Silveira DX (2017-11-01). "A phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience elicited by ibogaine in the context of a drug dependence treatment". Journal of Psychedelic Studies. 1 (2): 74–83. doi:10.1556/2054.01.2017.007.

[11] National Center for Biotechnology Information (2021). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 4205, Mirtazapine. Retrieved September 24, 2021 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Mirtazapine.

[12] "Muscimol".

[drugs-13] "Iboga". Drugs.com. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.

[koenig-14] Koenig X, Hilber K (29 January 2015). "The Anti-Addiction Drug Ibogaine and the Heart: A Delicate Relation". Molecules. 20 (2): 2208–2228. doi:10.3390/molecules20022208. ISSN 1420-3049. PMC 4382526. PMID 26807959.

[15] Carhart-Harris R, Nutt D (2014). "Was it a vision or a waking dream?". Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 255. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00255. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 3983501. PMID 24772095.

[Klesper-16] Klepser TB, Klepser ME (1999). "Unsafe and potentially safe herbal therapies". Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 56 (12538): 125–38, quiz 139–41. doi:10.1093/ajhp/56.2.125. PMID 10030529.

[Wong-17] Wong AH, Smith M, Boon HS (1998). "Herbal remedies in psychiatric practice". Arch Gen Psychiatry. 55 (103344): 1033–44. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.55.11.1033. PMID 9819073.

[Miller-18] Miller LG (1998). "Herbal medicines. Selected clinical considerations focusing on known or potential drug-herb interactions". Arch Intern Med. 158 (220011): 2200–11. doi:10.1001/archinte.158.20.2200. PMID 9818800.

[19] "The Link Between Mindfulness, Meditation, and Lucid Dreaming | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com.

[20] Machado RB, Suchecki D (2016). "Neuroendocrine and Peptidergic Regulation of Stress-Induced REM Sleep Rebound". Frontiers in Endocrinology. 7: 163. doi:10.3389/fendo.2016.00163. PMC 5179577. PMID 28066328.

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