The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review
CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics November 11, 2008 Torsten Passie, John H. Halpern, Dirk O. Stichtenoth et al. 459 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was synthesized in 1938 and its psychoactive effects discovered in 1943. It was used in psychiatric research during the 1950s and 1960s to produce experimental psychosis and in psycholytic and psychedelic therapy. After becoming an illegal drug of abuse from the mid-1960s, scientific interest has resumed with new methods and oversight. This review covers all aspects of LSD's pharmacology and psychopharmacology, based on nearly 10,000 scientific papers. LSD is physiologically well tolerated and psychological reactions can be controlled in a medical setting, but uncontrolled use risks complications. New interest focuses on LSD as a tool for studying consciousness and potential treatments for cluster headache and terminally ill patients.