Effects of Chemical Stimulation of Electrically-Induced Phosphenes on their Bandwidth, Shape, Number and Intensity
M. Knoll, J Kugler, Oskar Höfer, S.d. Lawder
Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery January 1, 1963 DOI: 10.1159/000104299 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractWhen a person takes mescaline, psilocybin, or LSD, electrically-induced phosphenes—patterns perceived without external visual input—become more intense, broader in bandwidth, and more numerous. In one subject, two control patterns increased in intensity and bandwidth, and many new phosphene patterns with large bandwidth and intensity appeared, especially during simultaneous electrical and maximum chemical stimulation. These results suggest a cybernetic model of a pulse-driven phosphene resonator.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | One human subject |
| Interventions | mescaline psilocybin LSD |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Phosphene Stimulation Bandwidth computing Intensity physics |
| Citations | 57 |
| Key finding | Chemical stimulation with mescaline, psilocybin, or LSD increases the intensity, bandwidth, and number of electrically-induced phosphenes. |
Abstract
The perception of patterns not resulting from viewing external objects but stimulated by cranial electrodes with pulse currents within the electroencephalographic frequency range (‘phosphenes’) has been investigated in earlier work. The experiments described in this paper were undertaken to observe in one subject effects of chemical stimulation (by mescaline, psilocybin and LSD) on electrically-induced phosphenes as to their bandwidth, shape, number and intensity. An increase of two electrically-induced ‘control’ patterns in intensity and bandwidth and the production of a great number of new phosphene patterns with large bandwidth and intensity have been observed. These new drug-induced phosphenes prevailed during simultaneous electrical and maximum chemical stimulation (Fig. 22). From the experimental results a cybernetic model of a pulse-driven phosphene resonator can be derived.