A Mental Ethnography Perception, Dreams, Hallucinations, Trance, Understanding, Reality formation and Need in Thought: Conclusions from Research in LSD
Niccolo Leo Caldararo
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary |
|---|---|
| Topics | LSD |
| Key points | The author recounts personal involvement in 1960s and 1970s perception and psychotropic drug research and re-evaluates that work in light of recent science and social drug use, framing it within an analysis of the physiology of hallucinations, delusions, visions, and dreams and cross-cultural data on dreaming and drug use. |
Abstract
In the 1960s and 1970s LSD began to be used as a potential therapeutic agent by a number of researchers. The author participated in a number of studies of perception, including sensory deprivation and psychotropic drugs, some of recent manufacture or discovery and some of primitive or traditional societies. This paper summarizes the experiences and research of the author from that time and a re-evaluation in light of recent scientific work and social use of such drugs. This is placed in context by an analysis of the physiological aspects of hallucinations, delusions, visions and dreams, as well as cross cultural data on dreams, dreaming and drug use and the social value of hallucinations, dreams and visions. Some of the material used in this report is derived from unpublished scientific research from Dr. Robert Mogar’s laboratory and related field research by the author.