Research Query: LSD Testing in the 1950s

A researcher hopes to contact volunteer participants in “truth sera” experiments.

In the first half of the 1950s, Henry Beecher of Harvard Medical School oversaw a series of experiments, sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Council, that were designed to test “truth sera” using various drugs, including LSD. The drugs were tested on volunteers, some of them Harvard students. Now Beecher professor of anesthesia James Rathmell is preparing an historical article on Beecher and his research. If you—or anyone you know—volunteered for Beecher’s experiments, Rathmell would like to hear from you: rathmell.james@mgh.harvard.edu. Confidentiality will be assured for those who wish it.

Related topics

You might also like

At Harvard’s Beck-Warren House, Ghosts Speak Many Languages

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

Yesterday’s News

A co-ed experiment that changed dorm life forever

Most popular

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files

What Bonobos Teach Us About Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.

The Teen Brain

It’s a paradoxical time of development. These are people with very sharp brains, but they’re not quite sure what to do with them...

Explore More From Current Issue

Modern campus collage: Rubenstein Treehouse Conference Center, One Milestone labs, Verra apartment, and co-working space.

The Enterprise Research Campus in Allston Nears Completion

A hotel, restaurants, and other retail establishments are open or on the way.

A lively street scene at night with people in colorful costumes dancing joyfully.

Rabbi, Drag Queen, Film Star

Sabbath Queen, a new documentary, follows one man’s quest to make Judaism more expansive.