Twenty Brits have volunteered in a controversial study being carried out at Cardiff University aiming to track the impact of LSD on the brain.
Fifteen men and five women agreed to be part of the study wherein they were given a 75 microgram injection of LSD and then had their brain activity monitored. Full conclusions of the study are yet to be arrived at owing to lack of funding but initial findings suggest that none of the participants reported having a bad experience, but three said they experienced some anxiety and temporary paranoia.
The research team, headed by government’s former chief adviser on drugs, Professor David Nutt, carried out two kinds of scans – functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography, which measures small magnetic fields generated in the brain.
Nutt tried to pitch his ideas to ‘classic funders’ including Medical Research Council (MRC) and Wellcome Trust, but both of the organisations have denied any funding. For this reason, Nutt has turned to crowdfunding where he is seeking £25,000 to see the research through to completion. The description of the campaign starts off as below:
The main purpose of the imaging study is to determine how LSD works on the human brain to produce its characteristic psychological effects. This question has never been addressed before. Understanding more about the physiological effects of LSD will help us shed light on potential medical interventions as well as help us learn more about consciousness. In many respects how the brain works is still a mystery. By researching how psychedelics work, we will be a step closer to understanding how specific areas of the brain are affected to induce certain psychological effects.
LSD was made illegal in 1967, but Nutt says that the law is wrong as laws are supposed to be based on evidence of harm and the law on LSD isn’t.
