Lotfi J, Meyer JS.
Cerebral Blood Flow Laboratory, VAMC, Houston, Texas
Cerebrovasc Brain Metab Rev 1989 Spring;1(1):2-25
Hermle L, Gouzoulis-Mayfrank E, Spitzer M.
Department of Psychiatry, Christophsbad, Goppingen, Germany
Pharmacopsychiatry 1998 Jul;31 Suppl 2:85-91
The psychological, neuropsychological, and neurometabolic effects of the hallucinogenic agent mescaline were investigated in 12 normal male volunteers. Between 3 1/2 and 4 hours after drug intake, mescaline produced an acute psychotomimetic state, as measured by the BPRS and PDS-P. The APZ questionnaire revealed the specific effects of mescaline in the visual system. Neuropsychological effects were studied with a face/non-face decision task with known right hemisphere advantage, in which mescaline induced a decrease in functioning of the right hemisphere. In functional brain imaging using SPECT, mescaline produced a "hyperfrontal" pattern with an emphasis on the right hemisphere, which was correlated with mescaline-induced psychotomimetic psychopathology. Our findings question the validity of the concept of hypofrontality as an explanation for acute psychotic symptomatology.
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