Chronic intraventricular administration of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) affects the sensitivity of cortical cells to monocular deprivation.
M A McCall, D G Tieman, H V Hirsch
Brain Research November 4, 1982 DOI: 10.1016/0006-8993(82)90424-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled experiment in animals Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult cats |
| Intervention | LSD |
| Duration | One-week period of monocular deprivation with concurrent drug delivery |
| Topics | LSD |
| Key findings | In adult cats given LSD during one week of monocular deprivation, 52% of visual cortex cells in area 17 were binocular, compared with 78% in the three control groups (deprivation alone, LSD alone, and neither), a level similar to normal adult cats. Other response properties were normal. The authors suggest chronic intraventricular LSD affects, directly or indirectly, cortical neurons' sensitivity to monocular deprivation. |
Abstract
In kittens, but not in adult cats, depriving one eye of pattern vision by suturing the lids shut (monocular deprivation or MD) for one week reduces the proportion of binocular units in the visual cortex. A sensitivity of cortical units in adult cats to MD can be produced by infusing exogenous monoamines into the visual cortex. Since LSD interacts with monoamines, we have examined the effects of chronic administration of LSD on the sensitivity to MD for cortical cells in adult cats. Cats were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: MD/LSD, MD/No-LSD, No-MD/LSD, No-MD/No-LSD. An osmotic minipump delivered either LSD or the vehicle solution alone during a one-week period of MD. The animals showed no obvious anomalies during the administration of the drug. After one week the response properties of single units in area 17 of the visual cortex were studied without knowledge of the contents of the individual minipumps. With the exception of ocular dominance, the response properties of units recorded in all animals did not differ from normal. In the control animals (MD/No-LSD, No-MD/LSD, No-MD/No-LSD) the average proportion of binocular cells was 78%; similar to that observed for normal adult cats. However, in the experimental animals, which received LSD during the period of MD, only 52% of the cells were binocular. Our results suggest that chronic intraventricular administration of LSD affects either directly or indirectly the sensitivity of cortical neurons to MD.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on LSD, most cited first.