The Therapeutic Value of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Mental Illness

Abstract

D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD 25) was first prepared in 1938 by Stoll and Hofmann. It is the synthetic amide of d-lysergic acid with a secondary amine, diethylamine and belongs to the ergonovine group of ergot alkaloids all of which have lysergic acid as a base. After its ingestion in minute doses, it induces psychic states in which the subject becomes aware of repressed memories and other unconscious material in a setting of clear consciousness. This preliminary paper describes the results obtained from the use of the drug in 36 psychoneurotic patients over a period of one year. We consider that the drug will find a significant place in the treatment of the psychoneuroses and allied mental illnesses.

The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas

“…Penfield and Perot, 1963; Barbeau et al , 2005) have been reported after ingestion of LSD and psilocybin (e.g. Sandison et al , 1954; Grof, 1975; Vollenweider et al , 1997). High-amplitude bursts of low-frequency/theta activity have also been recorded in the human hippocampus in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (Brazier, 1968; Freemon and Walter, 1970; Giaquinto, 1973; Moiseeva and Aleksanyan, 1976; Mann et al , 1997; Yu et al , 1997; Bódizs et al , 2001; Cantero et al , 2003) and LSD given to humans immediately prior to (Toyoda, 1964; Muzio et al , 1966) or during sleep (Torda, 1968) has been shown to promote REM sleep and dreaming.…”

“…psychosis and dreaming (Freud, 1900; Jung, 1907; Bleuler, 1911); psychosis and the temporal lobe aura (Slater and Beard, 1963; Bear, 1979; Ferguson and Rayport, 2006); psychosis and the hallucinogenic drug state (Behringer, 1927; Bowers and Freedman, 1966; Gouzoulis et al , 1994); dreaming and the temporal lobe aura (Rodin et al , 1955; Penfield and Perot, 1963; Mahl et al , 1964); dreaming and the hallucinogenic drug state (Grof, 1975; Fischman, 1983; Callaway, 1988); and the temporal lobe aura and the hallucinogenic drug state (Bercel et al , 1956; Schwarz et al , 1965; Balestrieri, 1967). It is also worth noting that dreaming (Freud, 1900), psychosis (Freud, 1900; Bleuler, 1911), the temporal lobe aura (Kubie, 1952; Robin et al , 1955; Delgado et al , 1956; Epstein and Ervin, 1956; Ostow, 1957; Mahl et al , 1964; Horowtiz et al , 1968) and the hallucinogenic drug state (Busch and Johnson, 1950; Sandison et al , 1954; Cattell, 1957; Martin, 1957; Eisner, 1959; Cohen, 1964; Abramson, 1967; Horowitz et al , 1968; Grof, 1975) have all been described as states conducive to the emergence of primary process thinking. In the remainder of this section we will review evidence that these states, which clearly display a related phenomenology, also possess a related neurophysiology.…”

Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future

“…Ronald Sandison, then working at the Powick Mental Hospital near Worcester, United Kingdom, published a paper in 1954 in which 36 patients with predominantly 'psychoneurotic' disorders were treated with variable doses of LSD given over a variable interval (usually weekly) in the context of psychotherapy (Sandison et al, 1954). LSD dosage was started at 25 mcg and then increased until an 'adequate' reaction was observed.…”

Psychostimulants and Artistic, Musical, and Literary Creativity

“…Even the more recent history of medicine and in particular psychiatry has examples of this continuing dilemma particularly in relation to LSD (Dyck, 2008;Sandison, Spencer, & Whitelaw, 1954). The counter culture of the 1960s based around LSD again found voices from within the medical profession arguing against the prohibition of the drug and advocating its use (Lattin, 2010;Stevens, 1988).…”