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DL‐α‐Methyltryptamine methyl sulfate in oral doses of 20 mg. and DL‐α‐ethyltryptamine acetate in oral doses of 150 mg. were compared objectively and subjectively in a group of trained, normal human volunteers. Blood pressure, pulse rate, pupil diameter, oral temperature, and grip strength were recorded hourly. Subjective effects were recorded 3 and 24 hours after administration of the drugs. A significant decrease in heart rate occurred 2 hours after α‐ethyltryptamine. Significant rises in systolic and diastolic blood pressure occurred 3 hours after α‐methyltryptamine. There also were significant increases in pupil diameter after each drug. The subjective effects were similar in many respects, but there were important differences. The onset of action was rapid for α‐ethyltryptamine and slow for α‐methyltryptamine; duration of action was longer for the latter than for the former. The most common effect, reported by 8 of the 11 subjects taking α‐ethyltryptamine, was a feeling of being elated or intoxicated. The most common effects reported by those who took α‐methyltryptamine were nervous tension and restlessness not unlike those produced by 50 to 60 γg of lysergic acid diethylamide.

Analysis of the quantified electroencephalogram of the left occipital lead (Drohocki's integrative method) of 21 normal male subjects revealed an average coefficient of variation in electrical energy of 15.4 per cent. In 25 male chronic schizophrenic patients, the mean coefficient of variation was 8 per cent. Placebo administration did not produce any significant change in either group. In the normal men, oral dosage with 0.3 p.g per kilogram of D‐N, N diethyllysergamide (lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD‐25) produced a 33 per cent decrease in variability without significant change in the mean energy content of the electroencephalogram. When the dose of lysergic acid diethylamide was increased to 1 p.g per kilogram, a 25 per cent decrease in variability and 23 per cent reduction of the energy content of the electroencephalogram followed. In schizophrenic patients, lysergic acid diethylamide at 1 μg per kilogram orally did not affect the mean energy content but produced a 47 per cent increase in variability. The findings indicate that the electroencephalogram of male institutionalized chronic schizophrenics tends to be hyperregulated. Similar hyperregulation is produced in normal volunteers by threshold and larger doses of lysergic acid diethylamide.