Journal of Mental Science (1955) 101: 317-329. doi: 10.1192/bjp.101.423.317
© 1955 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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A New Hallucinogen: 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenyl-ß-Aminopropane

With Notes on the Stroboscopic Phenomenon*

Dwight I. Peretz, John R. Smythies, M.B., D.P.M. and William C. Gibson

* From the Department of Neurological Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

ABSTRACT

  1. The structural formula of TMA (trimethoxyamphetamine) lies between those of mescaline and amphetamine. It is nontoxic to humans in doses up to 2.0mgm./kgm. of body weight. In mice it produced no fatalities in doses up to 80 mgm./kgm. of body weight. In lower doses (0.8–1.2 mgm./kgm.) in man it produced euphoria and a loosening of emotional restraint. In higher doses (1.6–2.0 mgm./kgm.) it caused visual hallucinations in addition.
  2. In humans hallucinogenic doses produced no significant effect on the blood pressure or respirations, and only a mild increase in heart rate.
  3. Very high doses (above 20 mgm./kgm.) in mice produced a tremor and a scratching of the ear with the hind feet. In anaesthetized dogs a large dose, given in excess of 10 mgm. per minute intravenously, caused a self limiting fall in blood pressure of about 40 mm. Hg. In unanesthetized dogs it produced a catatonia-like condition when given by rapid intravenous injection.
  4. The drug was not detectable in the urine 22 hours after administration by mouth. In humans the peak urinary excretion was between the second and fifth hours after administration by mouth. This peak felt off sharply after the fifth hour. Twenty to 35 per cent. of the ingested drug was recovered unchanged in the urine.
  5. A single flash of light from a stroboscope will cause a change in the type of hallucination present at the instant of the flash:
    1. The hallucination may change to a more primitive, less organized type.
    2. The previous scene may remain but with a difference in the lighting effect so that the patterns stand out in relief. Some details may be added to the pattern.