Human Studies with Psychedelics and Delirogens in the Former Czechoslovakia: Implications for Future Research
Abstract
The aim of this review was to systematically analyze human studies with psychedelics and delirogens on patients published in former Czechoslovakia in order to inform current and future research. Systematic review in line with PRISMA guideliness was conducted and relevant papers were searched manually in contemporary scientific journals published between 1952 and 1974.
Identified papers were classified into the following categories: animal research, biochemical experiments, theoretical treaties, and human studies. The category of human studies was further divided into mental health professionals' autoexperiments, studies on healthy volunteers and on patiens.
Almost two hundred papers were found and 109 of them were dedicated to human psychedelic studies. Out of these, 5 were focused on mental health professionals' autoexperiments, 32 were studies on healthy volunteers and 72 on patients.
Narrative synthesis of the studies on patients is provided with emphasis on implications for the current and future psychedelic research. Implications for current and future research First, studying of anticholinergics is interesting area to be interested in.
There was observed effect of psilocybin to amplify bland or manifest latent neurological symptomatology and lesions which implies potential use in clinical neurology as a diagnostic test. Another area of future study is effect of different substances in combination with the psychedelic or delirogenic one and also possibility to model different psychopathological symtoms, except often mentioned psychosis, also corsakovk's syndrome and delirium tremens.
This is the first study that systematically analyzes all papers published in the former Czechoslovakia between 1952 and 1974. Although the papers are not methodologically strongest, they provide interesting insights and inspiration for the current and future psychedelic research.