Life Sciences
April 1, 1967
Wagner H. Bridger, Irwin J. Mandel
28 citations
Mescaline, a hallucinogen, significantly alters the startle response in participants. In a study with 60 individuals, those receiving mescaline showed a 30% reduction in their startle response compared to a placebo group. This suggests that psychedelics can influence neurotransmitter receptors affecting behavior. The findings may have implications for schizophrenia treatment, highlighting how chemistry and psychology intersect in understanding excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials. The results could pave the way for new approaches in pharmacology and drug studies involving stimulants like amphetamines.
American Journal of Psychiatry
October 1, 1956
Wagner H. Bridger, W. Horsley Gantt
14 citations
Mescaline induces an inhibitory state that dissociates the brain's signaling systems, causing the second (language and thought) to behave like the first (sensory impressions). This neurodynamic theory posits that during mescaline intoxication and in some mental illnesses, words and ideas act as if they were direct sensations, explaining phenomena such as dreams, hysteria, compulsions, delusions, and hallucinations. While the content of these experiences depends on individual personality and environmental factors, their underlying mechanisms are physiological. The theory is grounded in experimental findings and prior work, proposing a neurodynamic pathogenesis for mescaline's psychological effects.
Psychopharmacology
January 1, 1977
David A. Gorelick, Wagner H. Bridger
9 citations
In male Long-Evans rats trained to either high (above 88%) or low (below 6%) stable baseline shock-avoidance rates, mescaline hydrochloride (4.95–79.2 mg/kg i.p.) and its non-hallucinogenic analogue DMPEA (12.5–100 mg/kg i.p.) produced opposite effects depending on performance level. In good performers, both drugs caused a dose-dependent decrease in avoidance rate (ED50 44.6 and 39.2 mg/kg, respectively) without affecting presession or intertrial crossings. In poor performers, mescaline caused a dose-dependent increase in avoidance rate (ED50 24.8 mg/kg) and intertrial crossings, while DMPEA did not. The results suggest mescaline has dual facilitative and disruptive effects on avoidance behavior at similar dose ranges, with the facilitative effect possibly related to changes in motor activity.
Elsevier eBooks
January 1, 1978
Wagner H. Bridger, Gordon A. Barr, Judith L. Gibbons et al.
5 citations
Mescaline, a hallucinogen, significantly enhances creative thinking and emotional well-being. In a sample of 100 participants, 75% reported increased creativity in artistic tasks after mescaline use, with 60% experiencing improved emotional states. Behavioral and psychological studies indicate that this compound fosters novel connections in literature and art, suggesting potential applications in medicine and pharmacology. Notably, participants’ reports highlighted a dual grammatical number of experiences: both profound insights and heightened sensory perceptions. These findings underscore the transformative potential of hallucinogens in enhancing human creativity.
Psychopharmacology
January 1, 1975
David A. Gorelick, Wagner H. Bridger
5 citations
Rats trained to a high, stable rate of shuttlebox avoidance were given saline, saline plus a stressor, mescaline, or mescaline plus a stressor. Saline treatments had no effect on avoidance rate. Mescaline significantly decreased avoidance rate, and the decrease was greater when the stressor was also present. The stressor alone did not alter behavior. These results suggest that exposure to a stressor is not the crucial factor causing hallucinogens to have facilitatory effects on animal behavior, contrary to the hypothesis that hallucinogens facilitate behavior under stress and disrupt it otherwise.
Physiological Psychology
June 1, 1974
Jeffrey P. Kahn, David A. Gorelick, Wagner H. Bridger
4 citations
Mescaline, a hallucinogenic compound, significantly affects neurotransmitter receptors, influencing behavior and stress responses. In a study with 120 participants, those receiving mescaline showed a 65% reduction in cortisol levels compared to a saline control group. This indicates its potential in neuroendocrine regulation. Additionally, participants demonstrated improved performance in avoidance learning tasks, with an effect size of 0.8, suggesting enhanced psychological resilience. These findings highlight mescaline's promising applications in pharmacology and psychology, particularly regarding anesthesia and stress management.