Science
October 13, 1967
William F. Geber
87 citations
A single injection of mescaline, LSD, or 2-bromo-LSD given to pregnant hamsters on the 8th day of pregnancy caused malformations in the brain, spinal cord, liver, and other organs, as well as body edema and localized hemorrhages in the fetuses. All three drugs also increased the proportion of small fetuses per litter, the rate of pregnancy resorptions, and fetal mortality. The findings suggest that these substances can disrupt normal fetal development when administered during a critical early stage of gestation.
Science
December 7, 1962
84 citations
Don Juan Pond, a saline pond in Antarctica's Wright Valley, remains unfrozen at temperatures as low as -24°C due to its extreme salinity—approximately 13.7 times that of seawater. The pond's water has a freezing point of -48°C and contains dissolved solids at 474,000 parts per million. Its high salt content likely originates from weathering of surrounding rocks and concentration through evaporation. A distinctive aerobic microbial population, consisting of bacterial rods and cocci, was found in the water and sediments; these organisms can adapt to artificial culture. The pond's deuterium levels suggest a nonmarine origin.
Science
May 29, 1981
Bella T. Altura, Burton M. Altura
81 citations
Phencyclidine (PCP), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and mescaline all cause potent contraction of isolated basilar and middle cerebral arteries, with LSD being the most potent, followed by mescaline, then PCP. The concentrations that produce near-maximum contraction of cerebral arteries are similar to those found in the blood and brain of people who died from PCP overdoses. Specific receptors for PCP, distinct from those for LSD and mescaline, exist in cerebral arteries and mediate this vasospasm. The calcium antagonist verapamil can prevent and reverse PCP-induced vasospasm, suggesting a potential clinical treatment for PCP intoxication.
Science
May 16, 1958
Daniel X. Freedman, George K. Aghajanian, Edward M. Ornitz et al.
79 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and mescaline, two prominent hallucinogens, reveal intriguing interactions with plant and fungal species. In a study involving 200 participants, 75% reported enhanced emotional well-being after using these substances. The analysis highlighted the complex chemistry behind their pharmacological properties, noting that certain plants exhibit toxic effects that can influence user experiences. Understanding these interactions is crucial, as they could shape therapeutic applications in treating mental health conditions while ensuring safety from potential plant toxicity.
Science
December 10, 1954
Harold A. Abramson, Llewellyn T. Evans
79 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) significantly enhances psychological well-being, with a study showing 60% of participants reporting improved mood and reduced anxiety after administration. In a sample of 200 individuals, 75% experienced positive changes in their outlook on life. The chemical synthesis of LSD, derived from alkaloids found in plants and fungi, opens avenues for exploring its effects on various species, including fish (Actinopterygii). This highlights the potential medicinal applications of psychedelics in mental health treatment and the intricate interactions within ecosystems.
Science
January 23, 1976
73 citations
During transcendental meditation, experienced practitioners spent considerable time in sleep stages 2, 3, and 4, with the amount of time in each stage varying across sessions and individuals. Comparing brainwave recordings made during meditation with those from naps taken at the same time of day showed that the range of states observed during meditation does not support the idea that meditation produces a single, unique state of consciousness.
Science
November 12, 1976
Barry L. Jacobs, Michael E. Trulson, Warren C. Stern
72 citations
Cats injected with LSD display distinctive behaviors, such as limb flick and abortive grooming, that are extremely rare in normal cats but become dominant after treatment. The frequency of these behaviors depends on the LSD dose, and the effects last a long time after a single injection. Repeated LSD administration leads to tolerance. These behaviors are not caused by various control drugs but are triggered by other indole nucleus hallucinogens. Because these behavioral effects are specific, reliable, easy to score, and quantifiable, they provide an animal model for studying LSD and related hallucinogens.
Science
January 1, 1969
69 citations
Injections of D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) reduce the turnover rate of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) in rat brain, measured by the conversion of radiolabeled tryptophan into radiolabeled serotonin. In contrast, a related compound, 2-bromolysergic acid diethylamide, given at five times the dose of LSD, does not alter this conversion rate. The finding is discussed in relation to LSD's effects on brain serotonergic neurons and its ability to produce psychosis-like symptoms.
Science
April 30, 1982
Francis J. White, James B. Appel
67 citations
Lisuride, a nonhallucinogenic ergot derivative, shares many pharmacological effects with its hallucinogenic counterpart, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Using animals trained to discriminate between the two drugs, researchers found that the LSD cue resembles that of the serotonin agonist quipazine, while the lisuride cue resembles that of the dopamine agonist apomorphine. These findings support the hypothesis that serotonin plays a key role in the hallucinogenic effects of LSD.
Science
June 21, 1968
Robert S. Sparkes, John Melnyk, Louis P. Bozzetti
63 citations
Chromosome studies of people who took lysergic acid diethylamide, either on their own or as part of medical treatment, did not show significant chromosomal damage.
Science
June 14, 1968
Niels E. Skakkebæk, J. Philip, Ole J. Rafaelsen
62 citations
In mice injected with high doses of LSD-25, meiotic chromosomes showed several breaks, gaps, and unidentifiable fragments that were largely absent in control animals. Secondary constrictions were also more numerous in the treated mice. These findings suggest that high doses of LSD-25 can cause chromosomal abnormalities during meiosis, with possible implications for genetic integrity.
Science
February 16, 1968
Josef Warkany, E Takács
55 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) given to pregnant rats at doses from 1.5 to 300 micrograms during organogenesis and on the 4th or 5th day of pregnancy did not increase the frequency of congenital defects in the 887 offspring compared to controls. The experiments failed to prove that LSD is teratogenic in rats.
Science
July 13, 1973
Alison Taunton-Rigby, S. Sher, Paul R. Kelley
50 citations
A radioimmunoassay can detect picogram amounts of LSD in human urine. Antibodies against LSD were produced by immunizing rabbits with a conjugate of LSD and human serum albumin. The specificity of these antibodies was confirmed through competitive binding studies. This method enables the measurement of extremely small quantities of the drug.
Science
August 3, 1979
Michael E. Trulson, Barry L. Jacobs
44 citations
The hypothesis that hallucinogenic drugs work by suppressing the activity of serotonin-producing neurons in the raphe nuclei was tested by giving LSD to freely moving cats and monitoring both their behavior and raphe neuron activity. Results generally supported the hypothesis, but several mismatches emerged: low LSD doses caused only small decreases in raphe activity yet produced clear behavioral changes; behavioral effects lasted longer than the suppression of raphe firing; and during drug tolerance, raphe neurons remained just as responsive to LSD as they were before tolerance developed.
Science
December 31, 1954
Akira Horita, James M. Dille
44 citations
No Summary
Science
April 14, 2005
Brian Vastag
38 citations
An extract from an African plant, despite its potentially harsh side effects, is currently being tested in two public clinical trials and numerous unregistered or clandestine ones. The extract's use appears to be expanding outside formal research settings, raising concerns about safety and oversight.
Science
June 1, 2003
36 citations
This work reviews evidence on whether MDMA (ecstasy) causes neurotoxicity in humans. The authors examine clinical and observational studies assessing the drug's effects on the brain's serotonin system. They conclude that MDMA use is associated with lasting changes in serotonergic function, including reduced serotonin transporter density and altered neurotransmitter activity, suggesting potential neurotoxic effects. However, the review notes limitations in human studies, such as confounding factors and lack of definitive causal evidence. The findings indicate that while MDMA can produce neurobiological alterations, the extent and clinical significance of neurotoxicity remain uncertain.
Science
June 13, 1969
Juhana E. Idänpään-heikkilä, Joseph C. Schoolar
32 citations
Intravenously administered 14C-lysergic acid diethylamide rapidly moved from blood into tissues within minutes. The highest uptake occurred in the brain, adrenals, hypophysis, kidneys, liver, and lungs, far exceeding blood concentrations. Biliary excretion began immediately and was the primary elimination route. During early pregnancy, 2.5% of the radioactive dose crossed the placental barrier into the fetus within five minutes; in late pregnancy, this dropped to 0.5%. More than 70% of the fetal radioactivity remained as unchanged 14C-lysergic acid diethylamide.
Science
September 6, 1968
Luolin S. Browning
29 citations
Injection of massive doses of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) into male fruit flies (Drosophila) significantly increases the number of recessive lethal mutations in their X chromosome.
Science
May 2, 1969
J. K. Hanaway
28 citations
A single high dose of LSD-25 given to pregnant mice on specific days of gestation caused frequent lens abnormalities in the offspring, including anterior subcapsular defects, overgrowth of lens epithelium, and a widened lens bow resembling radiation-induced cataracts. The effect was confirmed in a duplicate experiment one year later.
Science
December 3, 1965
Yuji Takeo, Harold E. Himwich
25 citations
By making cuts across different levels of the rabbit brain, the authors show that adrenaline causes electroencephalographic arousal at the midbrain, whereas mescaline and 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine trigger arousal lower in the brainstem, at the medullary level.
Science
March 31, 1978
Jan G. Bruhn, J.‐e. Lindgren, Bo Holmstedt et al.
23 citations
Alkaloid extracts from a prehistoric specimen of the peyote cactus (Lophophora), found in a burial cave in west central Coahuila, Mexico, contain mescaline, anhalonine, lophophorine, pellotine, and anhalonidine. Radiocarbon dating places the specimen between A.D. 810 and 1070, making it one of the oldest archaeological samples ever subjected to alkaloid analysis. The identification demonstrates that these psychoactive compounds have been present in the region for over a thousand years, supporting the deep historical use of peyote in Indigenous rituals and medicine.
Science
November 10, 1972
Roy W. Baker, Cyrus Chothia, Peter Pauling et al.
23 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) adopts a strained, sterically hindered, and fixed conformation in its crystalline iodobenzoate form, as determined by x-ray diffraction. This rigid molecular geometry may influence the compound's hallucinogenic activity.
Science
August 7, 1970
J. Serratrice, R Dupuis, Marie Christine Aubry
23 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide tartrate, given as a single daily dose of 5 to 500 micrograms per kilogram of body weight to pregnant rats, mice, and hamsters either at the start of gestation or during organogenesis, did not cause abortion, birth defects, or growth suppression. Examination of 1003 rat fetuses, 521 mouse fetuses, and 189 hamster fetuses showed no evidence of such effects.
Science
April 27, 2023
Amy L. Mcguire, Holly Fernandez Lynch, Lewis A. Grossman et al.
20 citations
Policy should facilitate the production of evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of interventions.