"In the 1950s, doctors noted the similarity between LSD trips and psychosis associated with schizophrenia. Both LSD users and patients with schizophrenia seemed to suffer a radical break with reality, replete with hallucinations and delusions."
"That observation led some doctors to a far-reaching conclusion: What if LSD trips and schizophrenia share the same underlying mechanism? If so, they reasoned, understanding LSD's effects might reveal the origin of schizophrenia."
"By 1954, two research groups, on the basis of this notion, proposed a 'serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia.' Their experiments with LSD suggested that it reduced serotonin levels in the brain."
In the 1950s and early 1960s, psychiatrists administered LSD to patients to create spiritual experiences for healing. However, they also used LSD to induce psychosis in healthy individuals to study schizophrenia. This approach stemmed from the observation that LSD experiences resembled psychotic episodes. Researchers proposed the serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia, suggesting that LSD reduced serotonin levels in the brain. The U.S. government later imposed restrictions on LSD research, but modern psychedelic therapists view themselves as successors to this earlier exploration of mental health treatment.
Read at Psychology Today
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