Studies on Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25)
A M A Archives of Neurology & Psychiatry November 1, 1956 DOI: 10.1001/archneurpsyc.1956.02330290012002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Nonpsychotic subjects |
| Topics | Anxiety LSD |
| Keywords | Depersonalization Psychosis Hallucinogen Mood Psychic Mental state Rorschach test Feeling Perception Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 112 |
| Key findings | LSD induces a reversible psychotic state in nonpsychotic subjects, characterized by anxiety, perceptual distortion, and autonomic dysfunction, with interpretations ranging from toxic psychosis to resemblance to major psychoses. |
Abstract
The striking mental changes induced by the diethylamide of lysergic acid (hereafter referred to as LSD) have been studied extensively in Europe,* Great Britain,† and the United States.‡ In minute doses (20γ to 120γ) LSD induces a peculiar mental state characterized by anxiety, signs of autonomic dysfunction, perceptual distortion (chiefly visual), alterations in mood and affect, synesthesias, feelings of depersonalization, and hallucinations. The drug is apparently the most effective and safest agent for inducing an experimental, but reversible, psychosis in nonpsychotic subjects. Various interpretations have been placed on the mental state produced by LSD. Some European authors refer to it as a "toxic psychosis of the exogenous reaction type" or a "diencephalosis,"§ presumably because the autonomic signs suggest effects on the hypothalamus. The resemblance of some of the psychic manifestations which follow LSD to symptoms of the major psychoses has been stressed by others.∥ The LSD reaction has been referred