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.