The effects of lysergic acid diethylamide and mescaline-derived hallucinogens on sensory-integrative function: tactile startle.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics December 1, 1978 Mark A. Geyer, Lyle R. Petersen, Gary J. Rose et al. 69 citations
In male Sprague-Dawley rats, hallucinogens and other psychoactive drugs were tested for their effects on the tactile startle response to air-puff stimuli. Phenylethylamine-derived compounds such as mescaline increased startle magnitudes throughout the session, suggesting increased reactivity. Indoleamine hallucinogens like LSD did not increase startle responding. LSD did increase the response to the first stimulus with more intense air-puffs and impaired habituation when the number of stimuli increased: control rats' responses decreased by 70% across the session, while LSD-treated rats' responses decreased by only 32%. These results suggest that LSD and phenylethylamine-derived hallucinogens differ in their effects on tactile startle.