WOOL AS AX INDICATOR OF NEUROPHARMACOLOGY 'A I. ACTIVITY 



71 



gradually increasing affinity for wool (3.3, 4.8, 5.5. mMoles X 10 2 per gm. 

 wool respectively). 



If, therefore, wool protein is a model of the neuro-receptors involved in the 

 drug-induced experimental psychoses, then we might expect that this group 

 of compounds will modify the LSD-caused psychosis perhaps by competitive 

 inhibition. Preliminary experiments suggest that a gradual increase in affinity 

 for wool of a compound might be associated with a more complete inhibition 

 of the experimental psychosis. (For other factors, see Fischer, 1954). 



A curvilinear relation was found to exist between the gradually increasing 

 affinity for wool protein of the seven compounds (from mescaline to ^-diethyl 

 aminoethyl-N-phenothiazine) and the logarithm of their relative toxicity (0, 

 1.26, 2.54, 2.9, 3.35, 3A3, 3.43) towards 14 day old tadpoles of Xenopus lens 

 (Fig. 2 and 3). Such a relation seems to indicate that apparently a similar type of 

 receptor is involved in the production and inhibition of experimental psychoses. 

 The increasing adrenergic blocking activity of LAE and LSD, as well as the 

 gradually increasing adrenolytic action of the inhibitors mentioned can be eval- 

 uated as indirect evidence supporting our contention (Fischer, 1954; Fischer 

 and Agnew, 1954). 



Interpretation of our data can also be based on the hypothesis that "many 



2 



o ' 



E 



LAE 



/MESCALINE 



6 



Affinity of compound for I e.rom of wool ( mlllimoles X 10 ) 



Fig. 2. Relation between the affinity for wool protein of seven compounds and the 

 log. of their relative toxicity towards 14 day old tadpoles of Xenopus levis Daudin. 



