LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE (LSD-25)

A single oral dose of LSD as low as 20 micrograms produces depersonalization, derealization, and increased imagery in healthy individuals, while larger doses are needed to produce the same effects in psychotic patients. In a treatment study of 15 patients with depressive reactions given daily oral doses of 20–100 micrograms of LSD for one month, 3 recovered and 4 improved, 4 showed no improvement, and treatment was discontinued in 4 cases before proper evaluation. Anxiety was a prominent reaction; euphoria occurred less frequently. In 3 patients who developed euphoria, it aided psychotherapy by encouraging expression of feeling, whereas heightened anxiety in others encouraged reticence.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25 Sandoz) given orally in single doses as low as 20 micrograms produces depersonalization, derealization, and increased imagery in "normal" individuals. Larger doses are required to produce the same effect in psychotic patients. Of 15 patients with depressive reactions, 3 recovered and 4 improved after one month's treatment with daily oral doses of 20-100 micrograms of LSD. Four patients showed no improvement. In 4 cases, treatment was discontinued before proper evaluation could be made. Anxiety was a prominent reaction while less frequently euphoria was observed. In 3 patients who developed euphoria it served as an aid to psychotherapy by encouraging expression of feeling. In the others the heightened anxiety encouraged reticence rather than confidence. Improvement obtained during the course of LSD therapy was not greater than that obtained without its use in comparable cases. However, LSD affords therapeutically valuable insights into unconscious processes by the medium of the hallucinations it produces.