Bulbocapnine

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Bulbocapnine is an alkaloid found in Corydalis and Dicentra, herbs in the family Fumariaceae that can cause fatal poisoning in sheep and cattle.

According to the Dorlands Medical Dictionary, it "inhibits the reflex and motor activities of striated muscle. It has been used in the treatment of muscular tremors and vestibular nystagmus" [1]. The psychiatrist Robert Heath carried out experiments on prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary using bulbocapnine to induce stupour [2].

The author William Burroughs references the drug in his book Naked Lunch, where the fictional Dr. Benway uses it to induce obedience in torture victims.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_b_26zPzhtm Dorlands Medical Dictionary at Merck
  2. ^ Scheflin, A.W. & Opton, E.M. (1978) The Mind Manipulators: a non-fiction account. (Paddington Press: New York) ISBN 0448229773 pp. 314-315.
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