Alterations in responses to LSD in humans associated with chronic administration of tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors or lithium.
K R Bonson, D L Murphy
Behavioural Brain Research 1996 DOI: 10.1016/0166-4328(96)00102-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective questionnaire study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Humans who used LSD during chronic (3 weeks or longer) antidepressant administration |
| Interventions | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) tricyclic antidepressants lithium |
| Duration | Chronic antidepressant administration of 3 weeks or longer |
| Measures | structured, standardized questionnaire |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Humans Lithium Hallucinogens Antidepressive agents, tricyclic Monoamine oxidase inhibitors Drug interactions Adult Female Surveys and questionnaires |
| Key points | Chronic tricyclic antidepressants and lithium were associated with subjectively increased physical, hallucinatory, and psychological responses to LSD, whereas chronic monoamine oxidase inhibitors were associated with decreased LSD effects. The authors suggest these differing responses reflect changes in central serotonin and dopamine receptor systems and may indicate that different antidepressant classes do not necessarily share a common mechanism of action. |
Abstract
This study sought to investigate possible interactions between antidepressant agents and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in humans through the use of retrospective questionnaires. Ten subjects were identified who used LSD during chronic (3 weeks or longer) periods of antidepressant administration. These subjects were asked to describe the phenomenological effects of self-administered hallucinogens prior to and during antidepressant treatment; a structured, standardized questionnaire was used to evaluate LSD experiences. Chronic tricyclic antidepressant administration was associated with subjective increases in physical, hallucinatory and psychological responses to LSD. Similarly, subjects receiving lithium chronically also reported increases in their responses to LSD. In contrast, subjects who had been chronically taking an monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor reported subjective decreases in the effects of LSD. This is similar to a previous report by our group of a decreased response to LSD in individuals who were chronically taking serotonin-selective antidepressants. These altered responses to LSD most likely involve differential changes in central serotonin and dopamine receptor systems and are consistent with other recent data suggesting that the clinical efficacy of different classes of antidepressants may not necessarily rely on a common mechanism of action in the brain.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on LSD, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 49
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
- The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics November 11, 2008
- Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future. Neuropharmacology December 25, 2017
- Predicting Reactions to Psychedelic Drugs: A Systematic Review of States and Traits Related to Acute Drug Effects. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science March 5, 2021
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Cites 6
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- Lysergic acid diethylamide and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine are partial agonists at serotonin receptors linked to phosphoinositide hydrolysis. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics September 1, 1988
- Chronic administration of serotonergic antidepressants attenuates the subjective effects of LSD in humans. Neuropsychopharmacology June 1996
- Hallucinogenic drug interactions at human brain 5-HT2 receptors: implications for treating LSD-induced hallucinogenesis. Psychopharmacology 1989
- Interactions between serotonergic agonists and antagonists in rats trained with LSD as a discriminative stimulus. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior July 1988
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