astronomy

Roland L. Fischer

Roland L. Fischer is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Roland L. Fischer rather than just read about it. In short: Roland Fischer (1915–1997) was an experimental researcher and psychopharmacologist known for his early work on psychedelic drugs, schizophrenia, the perception-hallucination continuum model of altered states of consciousness, and for his work on gustation which later contributed to research supporting supertasting. Fischer was formerly professor of experimental psychiatry and associate professor of pharmacology at O…

Key takeaways

Roland L. Fischer belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Roland L. Fischer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Roland L. Fischer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Roland Fischer (1915–1997) was an experimental researcher and psychopharmacologist known for his early work on psychedelic drugs, schizophrenia, the perception-hallucination continuum model of altered states of consciousness, and for his work on gustation which later contributed to research supporting supertasting. Fischer was formerly professor of experimental psychiatry and associate professor of pharmacology at Ohio State University (1958-1971), and also held academic posts at George Washington University, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins University.

Life and career Roland Fischer was born in Budapest in 1915. Six months before the start of World War II in 1939, Roland Fischer left Hungary to study chemistry at the University of Basel in Switzerland, where he received his Ph.D. in 1945. Fischer was active between 1951 and 1977 and was the author of more than 350 publications. In the 1970s, Fischer was a lecturer in pharmacology at the George Washington University Medical School and the Johns Hopkins Medical School and an editor for the Journal of Altered States of Consciousness. At this time, his interests involved biofeedback and EEG research on different states of consciousness. In 1977, he retired to the island of Majorca where he died in 1997. In gratitude for the opportunities for engaging in teaching and research offered in his late days by the University of the Balearic Islands, he donated his personal collection of books to the library of the University of the Balearic Islands.

Model psychosis hypothesis

Like German chemist Kurt Beringer (1893-1949) before him, Roland Fischer began looking for an explanatory model of psychosis for schizophrenia in the late 1940s by comparing it to altered states produced by hallucinogens. In the 1950s, Roland Fischer was quoted by Humphry Osmond in 1956 for having previously studied schizophrenia as a research biochemist. Fischer explored the model psychosis hypothesis of altered drug states originally studied by Beringer in 1927. Fischer and other researchers wondered if LSD could act as a chemical model for schizophrenia. However, as biochemical research progressed over time, the theory was rejected as newer evidence showed that both substance-induced psychosis and organic psychosis are remarkably different.

Taste science In the 1960s, he helped contribute to research on gustation and is credited with discovering the association between the ability to taste PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) with food preferences and body weight, and its relationship to alcohol use and smoking. His early work in taste science contributed to later research on supertasting.

Perception-hallucination continuum Between 1968 and the late 1980s, Roland Fischer developed a model for altered states of consciousness in several stages known as the perception-hallucination continuum. On one end of the continuum were ecstatic states, such as mystical rapture, separated by hyperarousal and hallucinatory states that schizophrenics might experience, followed by an aroused state, such as during creativity. Normal consciousness resides in the middle of the continuum. On the other end the hyperarousal states, such as those experienced during samadhi, separated by tranquil states, for example during Zen meditation.

Selected works Fischer, R. L. (1966), The Realities of Hallucinogenic Drugs: A Compendium. Criminology 4: 2–15. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1966.tb00153.x Fischer, R. (1971, November 26). A Cartography of the Ecstatic and Meditative States. Science. 174 (4012), 897-904. Fischer, R. (1971). Gustatory, behavioral, and pharmacological manifestations of chemoreception in man. In Ohloff, G. and Thomas, A.F. (Ed.), Gustation and Olfaction. New York: Academic Press. pp. 187–237. ISBN 0125249500. Fischer, R. (1992). A Cartography of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive States of Consciousness. Anthropology of Consciousness 3: 3–13. doi:10.1525/ac.1992.3.3-4.3

Notes

Further reading Baker, John R. (1994). Consciousness Alteration as a Problem-Solving Device: The Psychedelic Pathway. Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness 3: 51-89. Etevenon, P. (2010). Meditation as a State of Consciousness: A Personal Account Human Cognitive Neurophysiology 3(1): 1-25. Hardy, J. T. (1975) Science, Technology, and the Environment. W. B. Saunders Company. ISBN 0721645135. Kraft, Hartmut (2005). Grenzgänger zwischen Kunst und Psychiatrie. Deutscher Ärzteverlag. ISBN 3769104838.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roland L. Fischer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roland L. Fischer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Roland L. Fischer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Roland L. Fischer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Roland L. Fischer

In research: Roland L. Fischer appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Roland L. Fischer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Roland L. Fischer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 births, 1997 deaths, 20th-century Hungarian scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Roland L. Fischer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Roland L. Fischer” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Roland L. Fischer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Roland L. Fischer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Roland L. Fischer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roland L. Fischer in simple terms?

Why does Roland L. Fischer matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Roland L. Fischer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Roland L. Fischer.