Comparison of Amphetamine Psychosis and Schizophrenia

Abstract

Amphetamine psychosis arising during the course of long-continued amphetamine addiction resembles paranoid schizophrenia (Connell, 1958). Gradually the euphoriant effects of the drug are modified by anxiety accompanying ideas of reference and paranoid delusions. Auditory and visual hallucinations occur in a setting of clear consciousness and correct orientation. Restlessness, agitation and excitement are common accompaniments. An identical end-result has been reported in those cases that resulted from a single large dose of amphetamine or ingestion of the drug over a short period only (Wallis, McHarg and Scott, 1949; Herman and Nagler, 1954; Carr, 1954; Greenwood and Peachey, 1957; Connell, 1958). Accidental poisoning with amphetamine in childhood has been reported by Shanson (1956) and Patuck (1956) to result in hallucinations, hyperactivity, and a state of excitement and terror.