LSD Flashbacks
Archives of General Psychiatry June 1, 1984 DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1984.01790170105015 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A woman with visual symptoms but no history of LSD ingestion |
| Interventions | thiothixene trifluoperazine hydrochloride |
| Duration | Short trials |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Afterimage Confusion Hallucinogen Ingestion Psychoanalysis |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | A patient without hallucinogen exposure reported 14 of 16 visual symptoms typical of LSD flashbacks, and neuroleptics worsened her symptoms. |
Abstract
To the Editor.— I read with interest Abraham's article on "Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback."1The description of visual flashbacks and the apparent reduction in symptoms with the administration of a benzodiazepine called to mind the case of a woman I treated whose major difference from the patients in Abraham's group was the absence of a history of LSD ingestion. This patient had experienced the onset of visual symptoms at the age of 17 years during a near-psychotic upheaval, without any known exposure to hallucinogens. Of the 16 visual symptoms described by Abraham, my patient reported 14. Of the remaining two, she did not spontaneously endorse color confusion or positive afterimages but did not deny them. These visual distortions had persisted during the 20 years since their onset, although with decreased frequency. During short trials of two neuroleptics (thiothixene and trifluoperazine hydrochloride), she reported an increase in