Study of a New Schizophrenomimetic Drug—Sernyl

Abstract

Introduction The production of model psychoses has been employed as a technique for testing hypotheses relevant to the causes, correlates, and treatment of schizophrenia since 1921, when De Jong demonstrated experimental catatonia by giving bulbocapnine to animals.5This method of study has received considerable impetus with the discovery of the hallucinogenic properties of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25)22and other psychotomimetic agents. Objections have since been raised to the drawing of premature analogies between the psychotic-like states produced by drugs and the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Ebaugh has pointed out that "the difference between these pseudopsychoses and schizophrenia is so striking that such experimentation seems to have only tenuous relevance to the problem of schizophrenia."7On the other hand, Wikler has asserted that "from the standpoint of the development of dynamic (causal) concepts about human behavior, it matters little whether or not model psychoses resemble schizophrenia. Drugs which modify

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for 2 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: LSD ?Unclear

  Presents opposing views on whether drug-induced model psychoses are useful for studying schizophrenia, without reaching a conclusion.

  Synthesized October 19, 2026

• State of the evidence: Mescaline ↕Mixed

  Presents opposing views on whether drug-induced model psychoses are useful for studying schizophrenia without stating a conclusion.

  Synthesized October 25, 2026

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on mescaline, most cited first.