After analyzing the results, it was possible to verify that the groups treated with ayahuasca significantly decreased locomotion in the open field test and elevated plus maze tests compared to the control . Thus, ayahuasca doses of 30× and 50× that of the dose taken during a religious ritual were administered by gavage, and the animals were observed for 14 days . With regard to brain-derived neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus, there was a significant increase in the FLX and Aya2 female groups . For this purpose, rats were chronically exposed to the drink, and the levels of monoamines (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine), their metabolites and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the brain were evaluated .
Recently, the Government of Catalonia published a safety guide for ayahuasca facilitators created by the ICEERS Foundation . Although DMT is controlled according to the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, neither ayahuasca nor any preparation made from plants containing DMT is controlled . What is evident is that the phenomenon exists even in the face of punitive measures, as in the cases of France, Italy, Russia, and China, where ayahuasca use is specifically targeted and penalized. A recent report by the NGO ICEERS estimated that around 4 million people have taken ayahuasca all over the world , and it does not appear that this phenomenon is decreasing; on the contrary, it seems to be growing.
Also, Frecska et al. studied the psychometric measures of creativity, after the disappearance of the acute effects, in ayahuasca ceremonies. This study led to the conclusion that ayahuasca ingestion enhances divergent creative thinking and increases psychological flexibility, which allows for facilitated psychotherapeutic interventions . The results of the image concept test showed significant changes, inferring that ayahuasca consumption modified divergent (increased) and convergent thinking (decreased) . Other studies indicate that creativity and creative thinking are also influenced by ayahuasca. The results showed that participants improved in emotional non-acceptance, emotional interference and lack of control, as well as in a state of consciousness and decentration.
Long-Term Psychological Effects
In the clinical interview conducted using the MINI, this subject mentioned that the ayahuasca experience went well, and the traumatic termination of a partnership that they were experiencing was a more salvia trip explained probable cause of the anxious state. A reduction in psychiatric diagnoses based on clinical interviews after the initiation of ayahuasca use is consistent across studies6,33. Regarding sub-study 1, 40 ayahuasca-naïve subjects were assessed before using ayahuasca for the first time, and they were followed up with at 1 and 6 months after. The mean number of ayahuasca ceremonies that participants attended was 70 (ranging from 50 to 100 ceremonies).
Which drugs are MAOIs?
From what I read online it seemed like ayahuasca was a great way of working through personal trauma and recover from any emotional pain. Previously to doing ayahuasca I had never taken psychiatric medication, nor had I ever visited a psychiatrist before. Information, discussions and personal experiences about the shamanistic plant medicine Ayahuasca. Consistency of the dose and makeup of the ayahuasca brew are serious matters to be considered, as are potential interactions with other drugs the subject is taking 156, 157.
DMT is found in fungi, marine sponges, tunicates, frogs, legumes, and grasses and has been reported to be formed endogenously in human and rat brains as well as to be found in human urine, blood, and CSF. Pic-Taylor et al. also found that the increased serotonergic activation from these high doses led to some neural degeneration, but no permanent alteration in brain structure or number of cells was found. In a study of 18 volunteers, Riba et al. showed maximum increases in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of approximately 10 mmHg at 15 minutes, and a maximal systolic BP (SBP) rise of approximately 8 mmHg at 75 minutes following ingestion of ayahuasca containing a 0.85 mg/kg dose of DMT. Callaway et al. reported that pupillary diameter increased to a maximum of 4.9 ± 0.2 mm at 180 minutes, and returned to normal by 360 minutes.
4. Pain Treatment and Opioid Dependence
Regarding spectral combining marijuana with ecstasy analysis, it was found that ayahuasca led to an increase in potency in the high-frequency range and potency of slow wave sleep . It was also verified that ayahuasca did not induce deterioration in the quality of sleep, nor interruptions in the beginning or during sleep . The results obtained in the polysomnography allowed for verification that ayahuasca inhibits rapid eye movement sleep, increasing the onset latency as the positive control . The authors were able to conclude that ayahuasca ingestion, combined with sleep deprivation, suggested a decrease in sexual performance . On the other hand, the 500 μg/mL dose demonstrated a detrimental effect on sexual response compared to the control group . A control group, where a saline solution was administered instead of ayahuasca, was also used .
To assess divergent thinking, participants were asked to provide as many alternative associations as possible between the colored pictures. It consists of 40 photos of people in complex emotional states, both negative, and positive (50% pictures of each valence). Additionally, the retreats were of various lengths, with a minimum of 2 days (and one night of ingesting ayahuasca), and a maximum of 4 days (and two nights of drinking ayahuasca). That said, the ceremonies also differed regarding happenings before, during, and after ayahuasca intake.
Beyer refers to a similar pattern and describes three phases, the first with visual imagery and sometimes nausea or vomiting; the second phase is contact with a spiritual world in which users report useful lessons from spirit teachers, and the third phase involves fading visuals and feeling physically drained. Participants describe a transcendental experience in a spiritual world, encountering plant and animal spirits and even contact with a higher power, feelings of oneness with the universe, profound peace and ecstasy, and newly gained understandings of death and what comes after. This terrifying state peaks with intense vomiting, after which most participants noted an abrupt shift into an expansive state.
2. Effects Associated with Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being
Mixed results were found in studies of drug tolerance in animal studies 83-85 as well as in human studies , particularly to the psychoactive effects, which is unique among other known hallucinogens. In a study of rhesus monkeys, Fantegrossi et al. found reinforcing effects of the hallucinogens DMT, mescaline, and psilocybin, and suggest that the patterns of self-administration demonstrate weak reinforcing effects, and rockland recovery treatment centers possibly mixed reinforcing and aversive effects. Morgenstern et al. reported that almost no hallucinogen users had difficulty cutting down or controlling use, unlike many other drugs. P50 suppression is a test of sensory gating in which paired clicks are heard 50 milliseconds apart, and normally with the second click the amplitude of brain waves (auditory evoked potentials) is much lower, as the brain perceives it as redundant.
3. Antimicrobial Properties
For this, 24 participants were evaluated in the execution of the Stroop, Sternberg and Tower of London tasks, in a usual environment, before and after ingestion of ayahuasca . Another study developed by Samoylenko et al. evaluated the potential for preventing neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, by evaluating the MAO inhibitory activities of B. Thus, the study concluded that treatment with DMT leads to the proliferation of neural stem cells and the migration of neuroblasts, which promotes the generation of new neurons in the hippocampus .
Overall, 20 participants filled in the visual analogue scale the morning after the ceremony. In total, 31 participants filled in the ego dissolution inventory the morning after the ceremony. The questionnaire was completed by 42 participants at the baseline, 21 on the morning after the ceremony, and 22 participants at the follow-up. The questionnaire was completed by 43 participants at baseline, 27 the morning after the ceremony, and 24 at the follow-up.
Individuals with a history of depression require special attention, as they are more prone to experiencing post-ayahuasca adverse mental states and may benefit from additional psychological support. The classification of adverse mental states in psychedelic research should be reconsidered, as certain experiences traditionally labeled as negative may contribute to long-term psychological benefits. It is clear that most studies focus on psychological/psychiatric disorders, and, in fact, many results point to the use of ayahuasca as a possible treatment, being depression and anxiety the most studied topics. In another study developed by Colaço et al. , the potentially toxic effects of ayahuasca were evaluated in vivo.
Emotions and memories were intensified and past experiences were seen through vivid imagery, which gave the whole experience a “status of reality” . The authors noted a correlation between intensity of subjective effects and decreases in anterior-to-posterior transfer entropy, and postulated that psychedelics confer their effects in part by disrupting the normal state of top-down neural control and allowing greater bottom-up transfer of information in the human brain. Alonso et al. mentioned some of these recent studies which highlight several of the same ayahuasca-induced EEG changes, such as decreases in current density in the frontomedial regions, but explained that hallucinogen-induced changes in frontal to posterior interactions are only starting to be explored.
- This finding appears counterintuitive considering existing evidence on the positive effects of psychedelic therapy for depressive symptoms .
- Information on participants’ age, physical and mental health and history and context of ayahuasca use was collected.
- While participants reported the intensity of extreme fear was related to higher increases of all the adverse states (β ≥ -.155; ps p ≤.002), but with higher intensity of “Difficulty knowing what is real and not real,” “Hearing or seeing things that other people do not hear or see,” “Visual distortions” (β ≥.063; ps ≤.002) (Table 2).
- These results support the potential of ayahuasca as therapies for the treatment of alcohol dependence .
- To our knowledge, there are no other gender studies on ayahuasca’s adverse effects, and even in a recent systematic review on the topic, results were not segregated by gender .
- Structures of harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine.
Trichter et al. further evaluated the influence of participation in an ayahuasca ceremony on spirituality and novice participants. Kuypers et al. evaluated the effects of ayahuasca on creative thinking by performing creativity tests before and during the effect of ayahuasca in 26 participants of spiritual workshops. The results obtained indicate that individuals with ayahuasca experience scored less in fulfillment of life, living values, self in close relationships, self in social relationships and general self . Also, Franquesa et al. explored the relationship between ayahuasca consumption and decentralization, values and the self by conducting a comparative study between individuals with and without ayahuasca experience. This study suggests that ayahuasca has therapeutic potential in regulating mindfulness and emotion regulation.
- If you’re living with a treatment-resistant mental health condition, it can be hard not to pin your hopes on a substance like Ayahuasca, which seems like it could be a quick fix.
- Gable analyzed several studies to compare changes in HR, SBP, and DBP brought on by various psychoactive substances, and concluded that the hemodynamic effects of ayahuasca appear less hazardous than IV DMT, oral alcohol, insufflated cocaine, smoked marijuana, and oral MDMA (Table 1).
- Motivations included “curiosity, desire to treat mental health problems, need for self-knowledge, interest in psychedelic medicine, spiritual development, and finding direction in life”.
- Additionally, the use of synthetic analogs is also described, namely Moclobemide, Harmine freebase/HCl and Tetrahydroharmine freebase/HCl 6,8,16,17.
- Intriguingly, some research has even suggested that ayahuasca might affect the brain’s physical structure.
- Subsequently, the second evaluation was carried out, where the state of mental health was evaluated according to the phenomenology of altered states of consciousness .
Is Ayahuasca Safe? New Study Tallies Adverse Events
The results demonstrated that ayahuasca consumption did not affect exploration with open arms in the elevated plus maze and locomotion in the open field . For this purpose, after the last intake of ayahuasca, the animals were subjected to the open field, elevated plus maze and Morris water maze . The principal characteristics of the included studies in this systematic review are summarized in Supplementary Table S1. The remaining 66 publications were submitted to the second screening phase, and after reading each publication in full, they were included in the present study. Given the current interest in therapies of natural origin and traditional medicine, it is increasingly important to know the bioactive effects of plant species, namely those that can be applied as therapies or alternative treatments.
Participants ingested ayahuasca in the evening hours, and after ingestion, participants generally stayed in one room lying on a mattress or floor mat with a blanket, pillow, bucket, bottle of water, and tissue box to the side. Before ayahuasca ingestion, participants were acquainted with one another and were invited to take part in an “opening circle,” during which each participant was given the opportunity to share with the rest of the group any personal details that they felt comfortable with. Facilitators were not clinically trained to screen for health or mental disorders. These included screening for the individual’s physical and mental fitness to participate in the ceremony and the run through the preparatory instructions (e.g., to abstain from medications). Additionally, ingestion of ayahuasca was found to be beneficial for mindfulness-related capacities (Soler et al., 2016), levels of assertiveness and joy (Barbosa et al., 2005), anxiety reduction, optimism, and self-confidence (Da Silveira et al., 2005).
However, in the group that consumed ayahuasca, there was an increase in the levels of prolactin and natural killer cells; on the contrary, the amounts of CD4 and CD3 decreased . In both the positive control and ayahuasca groups, there was an increase in pupil diameter, cortisol levels and changes in lymphocyte subpopulations . Thus, we may be looking at a therapy that could contribute to the therapeutic efficacy of ayahuasca for cocaine dependence .
