Animal Models of Schizophrenia: The Case for LSD-25*

Gordon Claridge

doi:10.1093/schbul/4.2.186

Animal Models of Schizophrenia: The Case for LSD-25*

Gordon Claridge

Schizophrenia Bulletin 1978 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/4.2.186 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Intervention	LSD-25
Topics	LSD
Keywords	Psychosis Amphetamine Psychopathology Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Hallucinogen Parallels Disease Developmental psychology Clinical psychology Cognitive psychology Psychotherapist Dopamine receptor
Citations	59
Key points	Argues that LSD-25 is the best pharmacological model for schizophrenia because it mimics "input dysfunction" and produces psychophysiological effects similar to those in acute psychotic patients.

Abstract

Some of the difficulties of trying to establish an animal model of schizophrenia are first considered. Then, after a review of the evidence on the experimental psychopathology of schizophrenia, particularly that concerned with attention and arousal, it is concluded that the core feature which needs to be modeled in animals is some aspect of "input dysfunction." It is argued that, of the pharmacological strategies, LSD-25 comes nearest to meeting that requirement, for two reasons. First, the phenomenology of an LSD "model psychosis" closely parallels that of the natural disease. Secondly, the experimental effects of the drug, both in animals and man, are very similar to or can be closely aligned theoretically with those of schizophrenia. An example is quoted from work in the author's laboratory where LSD was found to produce psychophysiological effects virtually identical to those observed occurring naturally in acute psychotic patients and in normal subjects high in "psychotic" personality traits. It is suggested that the rejection of LSD as a drug model was premature, especially as the currently popular preference for amphetamine has not been vindicated, either by the latter's ability to mimic an important central feature of the psychotic state or by work on dopamine as a specific common mediator of amphetamine psychosis and of schizophrenia.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design
The Experimental Use of Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy	1970	Historical analysis
LSD: My Problem Child	1981	Historical analysis
On the Use and Abuse of LSD	1968	Theoretical or philosophical paper
The Use of Music in Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy	1972	Theoretical or philosophical paper
Flashbacks: Recurrent Intrusive Images After the Use of LSD	1969	Theoretical or philosophical paper

Citations in the library

Cited by 3

Cites 1

A Phenomenological Comparison of LSD and Schizophrenic States The British Journal of Psychiatry 1974