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THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AS INFLUENCED BY DRUGS1

Morton A. Rubin, William Malamud, Justin M. Hope

Psychosomatic Medicine October 1, 1942 DOI: 10.1097/00006842-194210000-00002 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational study Peer reviewed
Sample size 14
Population Schizophrenic patients
Interventions Mescaline Cocaine Sodium amytal Benzedrine
Topics Anxiety Mescaline
Keywords Electroencephalography Mood Psychopathology Alpha rhythm Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Personality Alpha finance Clinical psychology Audiology Hallucinogen Psychoanalysis Psychometrics
Citations 24
Key findings Mescaline produced extreme anxiety correlated with a 25 to 30 percent increase in alpha rhythm frequency, while sodium amytal reduced tension and introduced beta rhythm; patient-specific changes in psychotic content and alpha rhythm percentage occurred consistently across drugs.

Abstract

Mescaline, cocaine, sodium amytal and benzedrine were given to 14 schizophrenic patients, and their influence upon personality functions and the electroencephalogram (EEG) was observed. Changes in the EEG were found only when definite psychological changes took place. The effects of the drugs could be classified into two types: 1) Those specific for a given drug. Psychologically these were manifested in changes in attitude, anxiety, mood, etc. Correlated with the most extreme states of anxiety produced by mescaline was a 25 to 30 per cent increase in frequency of the 10-per-second (alpha) rhythm. With sodium amytal the decreased tension was accompanied by the appearance of a 15 to 20-persecond (beta) rhythm. 2) Those characteristic of a given patient. Psychologically these took the form of elaborations within the content of the psychosis and the patient's reaction to the setting, regardless of which drug was used. Similarly, a change in per cent time alpha of the EEG was consistent in a given patient either in the direction of increase or decrease.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on mescaline, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study Randomly selected United States adults 2015 Observational cohort n = 135,095
Long-lasting subjective effects of LSD in normal subjects Healthy participants 2017 Observational cohort n = 16
Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans. Navajo Native Americans aged 18-45 2005 Observational cohort n = 176
Mescaline-induced psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurometabolic effects in normal subjects: experimental psychosis as a tool for psychiatric research. Normal men who were volunteers 1992 Observational cohort n = 12
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methyl-amphetamine (STP): A New Hallucinogenic Drug Normal control volunteers 1967 Observational study

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