An Animal Behavior Model for Studying the Actions of LSD and Related Hallucinogens
Barry L. Jacobs, Michael E. Trulson, Warren C. Stern
Science November 12, 1976 DOI: 10.1126/science.982043 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Cats |
| Intervention | LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) |
| Topics | LSD Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Cats Dissociative Pharmacology |
| Citations | 72 |
| Key findings | Cats injected with LSD exhibit specific, dose-dependent behaviors (limb flick and abortive grooming) that are not elicited by control drugs but are elicited by other indole hallucinogens, providing a quantifiable animal model. |
Abstract
Cats injected with LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) exhibit a group of behaviors that appear to be specific to hallucinogenic drugs. Two of these behaviors, limb flick and abortive grooming, have an extremely low frequency of occurrence in normal cats, but often dominate the behavior of LSD-treated cats. The frequency of occurrence of this group of behaviors is related to the dose of LSD. The behavioral changes are long-lasting following a single injection of LSD, and exhibit tolerance following the repeated administration of LSD. They are not elicited by a variety of control drugs, but are elicited by other indole nucleus hallucinogens. Because the behavioral effects are specific, reliable, easy to score, and quantifiable, they represent an animal model that can be used in studies of the effects of LSD and related hallucinogens.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Human participants | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Crystal structure of an LSD-bound human serotonin receptor | 2017 | Experimental study with structural biology and molecular dynamics simulations | |
| Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: Sensitive Neuronal Units in the Midbrain Raphe Midbrain neurons containing serotonin | 1968 | Experimental study | |
| Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD. Human brain | 2017 | Experimental study | |
| LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer Cancer patients | 1973 | Experimental study | n = 60 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 20
- Dreams, Hallucinogenic Drug States, and Schizophrenia: A Psychological and Biological Comparison Schizophrenia Bulletin 1983
- Effect of Hallucinogens on Unconditioned Behavior Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2016
- LSD-stimulated behaviors in mice require β-arrestin 2 but not β-arrestin 1 Scientific Reports September 5, 2021
- Dissociations Between the Effects of LSD on Behavior and Raphe Unit Activity in Freely Moving Cats Science August 3, 1979
- Occurrence and use of hallucinogenic mushrooms containing psilocybin alkaloids TemaNord May 19, 2009
and 15 more in the library
Cites 11
- Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: Sensitive Neuronal Units in the Midbrain Raphe Science August 16, 1968
- Evidence for a central 5‐hydroxytryptamine receptor stimulation by lysergic acid diethylamide British Journal of Pharmacology September 1, 1968
- THE DISTRIBUTION AND METABOLISM OF LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences March 1, 1957
- Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25): I. Physiological and Perceptual Responses The Journal of Psychology 1955
- Persistence of lysergic acid diethylamide in the plasma of human subjects Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics September 1, 1964
and 6 more in the library