Differential Behavioral Responsivity to LSD-25
Archives of General Psychiatry – June 01, 1963
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Chronic schizophrenics exhibit a significantly diminished psychological response to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) compared to normal adults, with 60% of the former showing minimal effects versus only 20% of the latter. This difference highlights the need to explore the underlying mechanisms of LSD's action, which may be psychological or biochemical. Understanding these variations not only enriches our comprehension of schizophrenia but also raises questions about "biochemical sluggishness" as a potential characteristic of the disorder, impacting clinical psychology and drug studies.
Abstract
The major question posed in this report is whether chronic schizophrenics show less psychologic response to the administration of a given dosage of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) than do normal adults. Data relevant to this question are of importance in at least three ways: (1) they are of relevance in delineating the mechanism of action of LSD insofar as such mechanisms—whether psychological, physiological, biochemical, etc—must be broadly enough conceived to encompass differences in effect of LSD in schizophrenics and normals; (2) they provide a fuller picture of similarities and differences between schizophrenics and normals and thereby contribute to a theoretical understanding of schizophrenia; and (3) they contribute to the body of evidence pertinent to the question whether "biochemical sluggishness" is a general characteristic of schizophrenia. The literature concerning the relative responsivity of normals and schizophrenics to LSD-25 is controversial. The several historical