Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback
Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 1983 DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790070074009 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAmong 123 people who had used LSD, a syndrome of ten specific distance visual disturbances was identified, persisting for five years in half of the group. The condition responded to benzodiazepines, worsened with phenothiazines, and could be triggered by 19 different stimuli, most often entering a dark environment. Compared with 40 control participants, the data suggest that sensitivity to LSD, as indicated by flashbacks, divides the sample into three distinct subgroups, and a genetic basis for this sensitivity may exist.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 123 |
| Population | Persons with a history of LSD use |
| Keywords | Flashback Psychology Phenomenology philosophy Population Medicine |
| Citations | 172 |
| Key finding | A syndrome of ten visual disturbances, lasting up to five years in half of the sample, was treatable with benzodiazepines, exacerbated by phenothiazines, and precipitated most commonly by emergence into darkness, with sensitivity to LSD flashbacks dividing the sample into three discrete subgroups. |
Abstract
One hundred twenty-three persons with a history of LSD use were studied for the presence of the LSD flashback phenomenon and compared with 40 control subjects. A syndrome emerged that included ten distance visual disturbances. It had lasted for five years in half of the population, was treatable with benzodiazepines, exacerbated by phenothiazines, and precipitated by 19 different stimuli, most commonly emergence into a dark environment. Sensitivity to LSD as determined by flashbacks appears to divide the study sample into three discrete subgroups. There may be a genetic basis to LSD sensitivity.