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Abramson HA, Rolo A, Sklarofsky B, Stache J. 
“Production of Cross-Tolerance to Psychosis-Producing Doses of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide and Psilocybin”. 
J.Psychol.. 1960;49:151-154.
Abstract
If schizophrenias are caused by a disturbance in biochemical mechanisms analogous to that resulting from the administration of mescaline, LSD, and similar substances, comparatively nontoxic molecules might be administered therapeutically to produce tolerance to the endogenous chemicals that might produce schizophrenic states. The present studies therefore dealt with cross-tolerance produced by various lysergic acid derivatives and a new psychotomimetic compound psilocybin. . Exposure of Siamese fighting fish to concentrations of 100 mcg. of psilocybin in the outside liquid caused nothing of note. However, when the fish were injected intraperitoneally with 25 mcg. of psilocybin, their reactions were identical with those produced by LSD. Thus, LSD and psilocybin in the fish may affect the same enzyme systems as do the respiratory enzyme poisons. . In man, studies on cross-tolerance were carried out as heretofore. Studies in six subjects in a total of 15 experiments revealed that cross-tolerance was observed between LSD, MLD and psilocybin in every case. Psilocybin seemed to be more effective in producing cross-tolerance to LSD than did the cross-tolerance produced by MLD and LSD to psilocybin. There was an important variation between subjects in the ability to develop cross-tolerance. . It might be theorized that the presence of the indole ring was primarily responsible for production of cross- tolerance. However, this was not quantitatively borne out by unpublished studies on other similar compounds such as LAE, DAM, and UML. Data to date indicate that there may be a common mechanism responsible for production of induced psychotic states in man by compounds of this type. Further investigations using the Siamese fighting fish may reveal whether the enzyme mechanism in psychoses induced by LSD and psilocybin is the same.
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