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Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks

3 papers in the library · 12 citations · publishing 1983-2015

Papers

Effects of chronic administration of antidepressant drugs on central serotonergic receptor mechanisms

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks January 1, 1983 Sven Ove Ögren, Kjell Fuxé, Odd‐geir Berge et al. 11 citations

Chronic treatment with three antidepressants—desipramine, imipramine, and zimelidine—altered behavioral responses to serotonin (5-HT) agonists in rats, with effects depending on agonist dose and the behavior measured. At a high dose of the 5-HT agonist 5-MeO-DMT (4 mg/kg), all three drugs reduced head twitches, while at a low dose (1 mg/kg) or with a low dose of the 5-HT precursor 5-HTP (12.5 mg/kg), head twitches increased. Zimelidine and imipramine enhanced hyperlocomotion at the high agonist dose but reduced it at the low dose. Long-term zimelidine treatment produced subsensitivity in avoidance learning but enhanced responses in the tail-flick test, though overall it shortened response latency, suggesting decreased 5-HT activity.

‘Riding the Lines’: The Poetics of the ‘Chevauchements’ in Henri Michaux’s Drug Experiments

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks January 1, 2015 Mathieu Perrot 1 citation

In 1954, at age 55, the Belgian poet and painter Henri Michaux—already known for his travel accounts, fictional ethnographies, and poetry—began systematically exploring the effects of illegal drugs, including LSD 25, psilocybin, and cannabis, on his impressions and artistic expressions. He wrote five poetic essays, starting with Misérable Miracle (1972), which included 48 drawings made while intoxicated. A year later, Michaux proposed that all scholars try narcotics, arguing they open onto a specific type of knowledge not accessible to the sober mind.

The Consolatory Power of Mystical Experience

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks January 1, 1992 Michael Stoeber

Mystical experiences can provide a powerful consolatory force that reduces or eliminates the negative force of evil, often portraying evil as non-reality or nothingness. However, as R. C. Zaehner points out, this perspective can have horrible consequences, illustrated by Charles Manson, who passed beyond good and evil in realizing a harmonious unity of cosmic consciousness. Zaehner likens Manson's experience to non-theistic mysticisms of ancient Greeks and Zen Buddhism, where the discursive mind disintegrates and right is wrong, good is evil. The paper argues that such amoral perspectives challenge theistic teleology and personal love.