One of the less publicized protocols for psychdelic therapy was the so called
"hypnodelic" approach, in which LSD was combined with hypnosis.

Lately I've been wondering if it's possible or reasonable to resume research
into psychedelic states by using hypnosis to evoke (or re-evoke) a
full-blown peak experience in drug-sophisticated or even drug-naive subjects.

I occasionally hear stories from people who claim to have dreamt that they
took LSD or mushrooms, and had a psychedelic experience in the dream state.
One person who had never taken any recreational drugs at all reported
smoking hashish in a dream. Her account sounded very much like a credible
psychedelic experience.


In pursuit of this, does the Hofmann Foundation Library have any of the
following journals, or reprints of these papers?

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Information about psychdelic states evokable by hypnosis:

 Gwynne,P., Fischer,R. and Hill,R.M.
 "Hypnotic Induction of the interference of psilocybin with
  optically induced spatial distortion."
 Pharmako-psychiatrie Neuro-Psychopharmacologie
 (Thieme, Stuttgart) 2:223-234 (1969)


The use of psychometric tests to predict how individuals will respond
to psychedelics:

 Fischer,R., Kappeler,T., Wisecup,P. and Thatcher,K.
 "Personality trait-dependent psychomotor performance under psilocybin. I."
 Dis.Nerv.Sys. 31:91-101 (1970)

 Thatcher,K., Kappeler,T., Wisecup,P. and Fischer,R.,
 "Personality trait-dependent performance under psilocybin. II."
 Dis.Nerv.Sys. 31:181-192 (1970)


Regarding aspects of the psychedelic experience that are difficult to recall
after the psychedelic state has passed.:

 Fischer,R., and Landon,G.
 "On the arousal-state-dependent recall of 'subconscious' experience:
 Stateboundness"  Brit.J.Psychiat. 120:159-172 (1972)

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From what I've been able to dig up, it appears that the Myers-Briggs type
indicator (a psychological test that can measure a person's Jungian
personality type) is useful for predicting how a person will experience
time distortion, as well as their preference for bright or muted
environmental lighting, during the psychedelic state.
Other measurements that seemed useful for predicting a person's response
to psychedelics were tests of quinine-tasting threshold, and the
variability/standard deviation of various spatial measurements
of handwriting.

Besides being useful for planning a comfortable setting for a psychdelic
session, this kind of testing seems to be useful for measuring
a person's "set", possibly even to the extent of determining whether
psychedelics are likely to benefit a person, or are likely to produce
an aversive experience.


I also ran across a reference to a researcher cited only as "Rennert"
who was able to measure the height of the horizon line in the drawings
of psychiatric patients and use that measurement to predict whether
they were in an acute psychotic/hallucinatory state or not. Quoting
the reference:

    "... the more severe the schizophrenic episode, the higher the position
    of the horizon - ultimately, it may even disappear. At the same time a
    maplike perspective, or birds-eye view, of the landscape results, with
    houses and other objects appearing in the foreground.


Other items show that tinkering with a person's time-sense during hypnosis
induces specific, interesting mental states.  It may be that suggestions
that manipulate a person's spacial perception, such as "the horizon is
rising higher and higher in the sky" or "more and more the world seems
as though you are seeing it from a birds-eye view", or even,
"objects seem unusually close", "everything seems very far away" or
"your peripheral vision is expanding. You can see all the way
around your head in a continuous panorama" would also reliably
induce specific states of consciousness.


The use of virtual reality environments with abnormally elevated
horizons, distorted proximity, or other "geometrically impossible"
spatial characteristics could also be used to induce interesting
or therapeutic states of consciousness during hypnotic or psychedelic
sessions.


----
Needless to say, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with experience
with hypnosis, information about hypnodelic research, or who have dreams
in which they experience psychedelic states.

-Mark Thompson
(6-29-91)