cassiedoddDESMA9 Week 7 Neurosci + Art

This week’s lecture has taught me that the history of neurochemicals like cocaine and LSD isn’t just about science; it explores how we understand emotion and creativity, and maybe even deeper than that, the soul. These substances have been seen as miracle cures, mind openers, and dangerous threats, all depending on who you ask and when. Personally, before this week, I would’ve viewed it as the latter 100%, but now I can’t say I am so sure.

Take Sigmund Freud, for example. In the late 1800s, he was all in on cocaine, calling it a cure for everything from depression to fatigue. He even used it himself and prescribed it to patients until things went south and fast. His failed treatment of a patient named Emma Exin, coupled with his own struggles with addiction, revealed the dangers of medical overconfidence, ultimately casting a shadow over the drug and shaping the skepticism we hold toward it today. 

Image of Emma Exin

Then came LSD. Albert Hofmann accidentally discovered it in 1943 and decided to try it himself. The result? A bizarre, mind-altering bike ride home. But it wasn’t all trippy visuals; research in the 1950s suggested LSD could help treat alcoholism, with one study showing a 50% success rate. That kind of success caught the attention of people like Aldous Huxley, whose book The Doors of Perception praised psychedelics for their creative and spiritual power.

Image of Albert Hoffman

Timothy Leary took it further, encouraging students at Harvard to experiment with LSD. His methods? Not exactly by the book and very interesting ethically. He was eventually fired, but his influence on 1960s counterculture was huge. At the same time, the CIA ran secret experiments with LSD through Project MK-Ultra without people’s consent, demonstrating further ethical issues.

Image of Thomas Leary 

Today, artists and neuroscientists continue exploring how drugs affect perception. Projects like Brainbow, which maps brain cells in bright colors, blur the line between science and art. The big takeaway? Our relationship with neurochemicals is complex. These substances can heal, inspire, or harm, all being dependent on how we use them and the ethics behind their study.


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Photo Bibliography

Batty, David. ““Father of LSD” Dies Aged 102.” The Guardian, 30 Apr. 2008, www.theguardian.com/science/2008/apr/30/chemistry.drugs.

“Redirect Notice.” Google.com, 2025, www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmma_Eckstein&psig=AOvVaw2ddmW6Y_JERkc827KEKrZ4&ust=1747530629353000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCMj94YSpqY0DFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE. Accessed 17 May 2025.

“Timothy Leary | Biography, Books, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Timothy-Leary.



Bibliography

Calderon, Trina. “Flashback: LSD Creator Albert Hofmann Drops Acid for the First Time.” Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2018, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/flashback-lsd-creator-albert-hofmann-drops-acid-for-the-first-time-629085/.

CIA. “PROJECT MK-ULTRA | CIA FOIA (Foia.cia.gov).” Www.cia.gov, CIA, 3 Apr. 2018, www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/06760269.

“Emma Eckstein - No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis - Encyclopedia of Lacanian Psychoanalysis.” No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis, 24 May 2019, nosubject.com/Emma_Eckstein.

Hartogsohn, Ido. “When Aldous Huxley Opened the Doors of Perception.” The MIT Press Reader, 20 Dec. 2021, thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/when-aldous-huxley-opened-the-doors-of-perception/.

Pallardy, Richard. “Albert Hofmann | Swiss Chemist.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Hofmann.

Talk of The Nation. “A Tale of Two Addicts: Freud, Halsted and Cocaine.” NPR.org, 25 Nov. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/11/25/142782875/a-tale-of-two-addicts-freud-halsted-and-cocaine.

University, Harvard. “Timothy Leary.” Harvard.edu, 2019, psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/timothy-leary.


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