spun: переводы

→Equally deep was the influence of LSD research on the psychology and psychopathology of religion. Even under the complex and often difficult circum­stances of early LSD experimentation, some subjects had profound religious and mystical experiences that bore a striking similarity to those described in various sacred texts and in the writings of mystics, saints, religious teachers and prophets of all ages. The possibility of inducing such experiences by chemical means started an involved discussion about the authenticity and value of this "instant mysticism." Despite the fact that many leading scientists, theologians and spiritual teachers have discussed this theme extensively, the controversy about "chemical" versus "spontaneous" mysticism remains unresolved until this day.

→The early experimentation with LSD also brought important new insights into the nature of the creative process and contributed to a deeper understanding of the psychology and psychopathology of art. For many experimental subjects, professional artists as well as laymen, the LSD session represented a profound aesthetic experience that gave them a new understanding of modern art move­ments and art in general. Painters, sculptors and musicians became favorite LSD subjects because they tended to produce most unusual, unconventional and inter­esting pieces of art under the influence of the drug. Some of them were able to express and convey in their creations the nature and flavor of the psychedelic experience, which defies any adequate verbal description. The day of the LSD experience often became a dramatic and easily discernible landmark in the development of individual artists.

→Another area in which the extraordinary effects of LSD proved extremely helpful was self-experimentation by mental health professionals. In the early years of LSD research, didactic LSD experiences were recommended as an unrivalled tool for the training of psychiatrists, psychologists, medical students, and psychia­tric nurses. The LSD sessions were advertised as a short, safe and reversible journey into the world of the schizophrenic. It was repeatedly reported in various books and articles on LSD that a single psychedelic experience could considerably increase the subject's ability to understand psychotic patients, approach them with sensitivity, and treat them effectively. Even though the concept of the LSD experi­ence as "model schizophrenia" was later discarded by a majority of scientists, it re­mains an unquestionable fact that experiencing the profound psychological changes induced by LSD is a unique and valuable learning experience for all clini­cians and theoreticians studying abnormal mental states.

→This reductionistic and oversimplified approach to schizophrenia was repeatedly criticized by psychoanalytically and phenomenologically oriented clini­cians and biochemical investigators, and finally abandoned by most researchers. It became increasingly obvious that the LSD-induced state had many specific characteristics clearly distinguishing it from schizophrenia. In addition, none of the biochemical mechanisms postulated for schizophrenia was unequivocally sup­ported by clinical and laboratory data. Although the "model psychosis" approach did not resolve the problem of the etiology of schizophrenia or provide a miraculous "test-tube" cure for this mysterious disease, it served as a powerful in­spiration for many researchers and contributed in a decisive way to the neuro-physiological and psychopharmacological revolution of the fifties and early sixties.

→Much research during the years following the discovery of LSD was aimed at proving or disproving the "model psychosis" hypothesis. Its power was such that for many years LSD sessions conducted for any purpose were referred to as "experimental psychoses," and LSD and similar substances were called hallucino­gens, psychotomimetics (psychosis-simulating compounds) or psychodysleptics (drugs disrupting the psyche). This situation was not rectified until 1957 when Humphrey Osmond, after mutually stimulating correspondence with Aldous Huxley, coined a much more accurate term, "psychedelics" (mind-manifesting or mind-opening drugs). (74) In these years much effort was directed toward accurate phenomenological description of the LSD experience and assessment of the similarities and differences between the psychedelic states and schizophrenia. These descriptive studies had their counterpart in the research exploring parallels between these two conditions, as reflected in clinical measurements, psychological tests, electro-physiological data, and biochemical findings. The significance at­tributed to this avenue of research found an expression in the number of studies contributing basic data about the effects of LSD on various physiological and bio­chemical functions as well as on the behavior of experimental animals, on isolated organs and tissue cultures, and on enzymatic systems. Of special interest from the point of view of the "model psychosis" hypothesis were experiments studying the antagonism between LSD and various other substances. The possibility of block­ing the LSD state, by premedication with another drug or by its administration at the time of fully developed LSD effects, was seen as a promising approach to the discovery of new directions in the pharmaco-therapy of psychiatric disorders. Several biochemical hypotheses of schizophrenia were formulated at this time, im­plicating specific substances or whole metabolic cycles as the primary cause of this disease. The serotonin.hypothesis coined by Woolley and Shaw (104) received by far the most attention. According to their model LSD causes abnormal mental functioning by interfering with the neurotransmitter substance serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine). A similar mechanism was postulated as the biochemical cause of schizophrenia.

→Various ergot alkaloids have important uses in medicine, primarily as drugs that can induce uterine contractions, stop gynecological bleeding, and relieve migraine headache. The objective in the Sandoz study of ergot derivatives was to obtain compounds with the best therapeutic properties and least side effects. After LSD hnd been synthesized, it was subjected to pharmacological testing by Profes­sor Ernst Rothlin. (88) It showed a marked uterotonic action and caused excitation in some of the animals; at the time these effects were not considered of sufficient interest to be further explored.

→LSD-25 (or diethylamide of d-lysergic acid) was first synthesized in 1938 by Albert Hofmann in the Sandoz chemical-pharmaceutical laboratories in Basle, Switzer­land. As its name indicates, it was the twenty-fifth compound developed in a sys­tematic study of amides of lysergic acid. LSD is a semisynthetic chemical product; its natural component is lysergic acid, which is the basis of all major ergot alka­loids, and the diethylamide group is added in the laboratory. According to Stoll, Hofmann and Troxler(98), it has the following chemical formula:

→THE DISCOVERY OF LSD AND ITS PSYCHEDELIC EFFECTS