The intracranial injection of drug in goldfish. I: Hallucinogens and their antagonism to smooth muscle activity.

A simplified method of studying the surfacing reaction of goldfish to hallucinogens is described. Goldfish weighing up to three grams are injected intracranially. Employing this method, d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25), d-2-acetyl lysergic acid diethylamide (ALD-52), 1-methyl d-lysergic acid butano-lamide (UML-491), and 5-methoxy dimethyl tryptamine (5-MEO-DMT) were found to be as pharmacologically active as previously noted in fish and in man. The relationship of these drugs to their anti-serotonin activity is of particular interest to the allergist because of the way in which the congeners and derivatives of LSD block the action of serotonin on smooth muscle.