Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback
Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 1983 DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790070074009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 123 |
| Population | Persons with a history of LSD use |
| Topics | LSD Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Flashback Phenomenology philosophy Population |
| Citations | 172 |
| Key findings | A syndrome of ten visual disturbances, lasting up to five years in half of the sample, was treatable with benzodiazepines, exacerbated by phenothiazines, and precipitated most commonly by emergence into darkness, with sensitivity to LSD flashbacks dividing the sample into three discrete subgroups. |
Abstract
One hundred twenty-three persons with a history of LSD use were studied for the presence of the LSD flashback phenomenon and compared with 40 control subjects. A syndrome emerged that included ten distance visual disturbances. It had lasted for five years in half of the population, was treatable with benzodiazepines, exacerbated by phenothiazines, and precipitated by 19 different stimuli, most commonly emergence into a dark environment. Sensitivity to LSD as determined by flashbacks appears to divide the study sample into three discrete subgroups. There may be a genetic basis to LSD sensitivity.