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

Yesterday’s News

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

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

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Yesterday’s News

A co-ed experiment that changed dorm life forever

Most popular

Brief life of novelist Ann Petry, by Farah Jasmine Griffin

Brief life of a celebrity-averse novelist: 1908-1997

A Cap on A’s at Harvard? Students and Faculty Raise Concerns at Town Hall

Dozens debate the grade inflation proposal that faculty will discuss next week.

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman in a black blazer holds a bottle of beer.

Introductions: Mallika Monteiro

A conversation with a beer industry executive

Illustration of a person sitting on a large cresting wave, writing, with a sunset and ocean waves in vibrant colors.

How Stories Help Us Cope with Climate Change

The growing genre of climate fiction offers a way to process reality—and our anxieties.

Modern campus collage: 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.