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Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

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Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#41
post #9

I'm more scared of LSD than ever before, after hearing about that you see "scanlines" for ever after using it. Anyone got this after? https://www.insider.com/9-years-after-acid-trip-man-has-pers...

https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/06/06/hppd-and-the-specter-o...

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#42
post #28

It's humorous to me that they bothered injecting saline into the control group here. I'm pretty sure anyone on earth would know whether or not they were on 75 micrograms of LSD, and the act of wondering whether you are or not is enough to induce panic. Pretty sure both groups would produce higher quality data in an unblinded study.

This isnt necessarily true. There is some study out there where subjects were either given saline, or a moderate dose of LSD, and it was only like 60% of subjects were able to tell which was which.

What is a moderate dose and which 60% ?

If someone had never tripped on LSD and was given a placebo, they might think it's LSD because how would they know.

But if you know what an LSD trip is, I don't think it's possible to mistake a placebo for it.

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#43
post #9

I'm more scared of LSD than ever before, after hearing about that you see "scanlines" for ever after using it. Anyone got this after? https://www.insider.com/9-years-after-acid-trip-man-has-pers...

"My whole mouth went numb" This is a very strong indication for taking NBOME instead of LSD. From the article: "Looking back, I'm pretty certain that what I tried was not LSD." LSD would never numb your mouth. Just Google "LSD mouht numb reddit". Also, there's no lethal does of LSD, NBOM can easily kill you or screw you up just like in the article. Everyone should always test thier substances before taking them to pr…

Or rather, make sure you know what you're taking. Chemical reagent tests exist, so do fentanyl, NBOMe, bromo-dragonfly. Responsible use is no overly cautious joke.

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#44
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Were the subjects told “this is LSD” or were they told “this may be LSD and it may be a placebo”?

I'm not sure how global the practice is, but at least in the US, you're briefed on the study as part of patient consent. They clearly tell you that nature of the study, including details about blinding, placebos that study participants may get instead of the active chemical, etc.

Informed consent was codified into international law [1] in response to Nazi and Japanese human experiments. There's a few notable exceptions like China (signed but not ratified internally) and in some cultures it may not be emphasized enough to doctors in training but it's pretty universally understood in medical ethics that lying to patients is a line we should not cross.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Covenant_on_Civi...

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#45
post #28

It's humorous to me that they bothered injecting saline into the control group here. I'm pretty sure anyone on earth would know whether or not they were on 75 micrograms of LSD, and the act of wondering whether you are or not is enough to induce panic. Pretty sure both groups would produce higher quality data in an unblinded study.

This isnt necessarily true. There is some study out there where subjects were either given saline, or a moderate dose of LSD, and it was only like 60% of subjects were able to tell which was which.

[deleted]

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#46
post #9

I'm more scared of LSD than ever before, after hearing about that you see "scanlines" for ever after using it. Anyone got this after? https://www.insider.com/9-years-after-acid-trip-man-has-pers...

Aside from fud the only thing that is known among psychadelic users is visual snow ( one of the hallmarks of HPPD) . this sometimes happens after extremely high doses of psychadelics

It's more than snow. I had years after where walls would breathe. I still (decades later) have issues with black text on white backgrounds.

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#47
post #28

It's humorous to me that they bothered injecting saline into the control group here. I'm pretty sure anyone on earth would know whether or not they were on 75 micrograms of LSD, and the act of wondering whether you are or not is enough to induce panic. Pretty sure both groups would produce higher quality data in an unblinded study.

75 is a fairly mild dose, and people can placebo themselves into some pretty extreme states

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#48
post #47
post #28

It's humorous to me that they bothered injecting saline into the control group here. I'm pretty sure anyone on earth would know whether or not they were on 75 micrograms of LSD, and the act of wondering whether you are or not is enough to induce panic. Pretty sure both groups would produce higher quality data in an unblinded study.

75 is a fairly mild dose, and people can placebo themselves into some pretty extreme states

I disagree about 75 being a fairly mild dose. For a 200lbs male maybe. For a 100lbs female definitely not.

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#49
post #9

I'm more scared of LSD than ever before, after hearing about that you see "scanlines" for ever after using it. Anyone got this after? https://www.insider.com/9-years-after-acid-trip-man-has-pers...

"The mind makes it real"

If you search for patterns in your "input data" you will find them. If you search for the patterns enough, your "mind" will automate the process. Then you have those "patterns" in your "normal" perception.

An example: if focus on the noice floor of you hearing for a few days you will begin to perceive tinnitus.

My hypothesis would be that the man from the article took the drug, became scared cause he perceived scan lines in is visual perception, then placed loots of attention on the scan lines to determine if they would go away. The attention he placed on the scan lines strengthened the perceptions and now he can’t undo the conditioning he did to his visual processing system.

Re: Effect of LSD on reinforcement learning in humans (2022)

#50
post #9

I'm more scared of LSD than ever before, after hearing about that you see "scanlines" for ever after using it. Anyone got this after? https://www.insider.com/9-years-after-acid-trip-man-has-pers...

Thanks for the article. It sounds very similar to what I dealt with after I took two tabs of what probably was DOx sold as LSD around 1990. Nearly 24 hour, intense trip with long term visual effects, depersonalization and derealization, and severe anxiety for years after. Funnily enough I also received a bipolar diagnosis.
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