Acute Biphasic Effects of Ayahuasca
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg1, João Felipe Morel Alexandre2, Renato Filev3, Andre Mascioli Cravo2, João Ricardo Sato2, Suresh D. Muthukumaraswamy4, Maurício Yonamine5, Marian Waguespack6, Izabela Lomnicka6, Steven A. Barker6, Dartiu Xavier da Silveira3
Abstract
Ritual use of ayahuasca, an amazonian Amerindian medicine turned sacrament in syncretic religions in Brazil, is rapidly growing around the world. Because of this internationalization, a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of action of the brew and the neural correlates of the modified states of consciousness it induces is important.
Employing a combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings and quantification of ayahuasca’s compounds and their metabolites in the systemic circulation we found ayahuasca to induce a biphasic effect in the brain. This effect was composed of reduced power in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) after 50 minutes from ingestion of the brew and increased slow- and fast-gamma power (30–50 and 50–100 Hz, respectively) between 75 and 125 minutes.
Alpha power reductions were mostly located at left parieto-occipital cortex, slow-gamma power increase was observed at left centro-parieto-occipital, left fronto-temporal and right frontal cortices while fast-gamma increases were significant at left centro-parieto-occipital, left fronto-temporal, right frontal and right parieto-occipital cortices.
These effects were significantly associated with circulating levels of ayahuasca’s chemical compounds, mostly N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine and some of their metabolites. An interpretation based on a cognitive and emotional framework relevant to the ritual use of ayahuasca, as well as it’s potential therapeutic effects is offered.
| Infographic
Ritual use of ayahuasca, an amazonian Amerindian medicine turned sacrament in syncretic religions in Brazil, is rapidly growing around the world. Because of this internationalization, a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of action of the brew and the neural correlates of the modified states of consciousness it induces is important.
Employing a combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings and quantification of ayahuasca’s compounds and their metabolites in the systemic circulation we found ayahuasca to induce a biphasic effect in the brain. This effect was composed of reduced power in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) after 50 minutes from ingestion of the brew and increased slow- and fast-gamma power (30–50 and 50–100 Hz, respectively) between 75 and 125 minutes.
Alpha power reductions were mostly located at left parieto-occipital cortex, slow-gamma power increase was observed at left centro-parieto-occipital, left fronto-temporal and right frontal cortices while fast-gamma increases were significant at left centro-parieto-occipital, left fronto-temporal, right frontal and right parieto-occipital cortices.
These effects were significantly associated with circulating levels of ayahuasca’s chemical compounds, mostly N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine and some of their metabolites. An interpretation based on a cognitive and emotional framework relevant to the ritual use of ayahuasca, as well as it’s potential therapeutic effects is offered.
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Published: September 30, 2015,
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137202
PLOS ONE September 30, 2015
1Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
2Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, Brazil
3Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
4University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
5Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
6Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: A retrospective study
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg1, Maria Angélica de Castro Comis2, Bruno Rasmussen Chaves3, Dartiu Xavier da Silveira4
Abstract
Ibogaine is an alkaloid purported to be an effective drug dependence treatment. However, its efficacy has been hard to evaluate, partly because it is illegal in some countries. In such places, treatments are conducted in underground settings where fatalities have occurred. In Brazil ibogaine is unregulated and a combined approach of psychotherapy and ibogaine is being practiced to treat addiction. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 75 previous alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and crack users (72% poly-drug users). We observed no serious adverse reactions or fatalities, and found 61% of participants abstinent.
Participants treated with ibogaine only once reported abstinence for a median of 5.5 months and those treated multiple times for a median of 8.4 months. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001), and both single or multiple treatments led to longer abstinence periods than before the first ibogaine session (p < 0.001). These results suggest that the use of ibogaine supervised by a physician and accompanied by psychotherapy can facilitate prolonged periods of abstinence, without the occurrence of fatalities or complications. These results suggest that ibogaine can be a safe and effective treatment for dependence on stimulant and other non-opiate drugs.
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Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: A retrospective study
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg1, Maria Angélica de Castro Comis2, Bruno Rasmussen Chaves3, Dartiu Xavier da Silveira4
Abstract
Ibogaine is an alkaloid purported to be an effective drug dependence treatment. However, its efficacy has been hard to evaluate, partly because it is illegal in some countries. In such places, treatments are conducted in underground settings where fatalities have occurred. In Brazil ibogaine is unregulated and a combined approach of psychotherapy and ibogaine is being practiced to treat addiction. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 75 previous alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and crack users (72% poly-drug users). We observed no serious adverse reactions or fatalities, and found 61% of participants abstinent.
Participants treated with ibogaine only once reported abstinence for a median of 5.5 months and those treated multiple times for a median of 8.4 months. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001), and both single or multiple treatments led to longer abstinence periods than before the first ibogaine session (p < 0.001). These results suggest that the use of ibogaine supervised by a physician and accompanied by psychotherapy can facilitate prolonged periods of abstinence, without the occurrence of fatalities or complications. These results suggest that ibogaine can be a safe and effective treatment for dependence on stimulant and other non-opiate drugs.
Ibogaine is an alkaloid purported to be an effective drug dependence treatment. However, its efficacy has been hard to evaluate, partly because it is illegal in some countries. In such places, treatments are conducted in underground settings where fatalities have occurred. In Brazil ibogaine is unregulated and a combined approach of psychotherapy and ibogaine is being practiced to treat addiction. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 75 previous alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and crack users (72% poly-drug users). We observed no serious adverse reactions or fatalities, and found 61% of participants abstinent.
Participants treated with ibogaine only once reported abstinence for a median of 5.5 months and those treated multiple times for a median of 8.4 months. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001), and both single or multiple treatments led to longer abstinence periods than before the first ibogaine session (p < 0.001). These results suggest that the use of ibogaine supervised by a physician and accompanied by psychotherapy can facilitate prolonged periods of abstinence, without the occurrence of fatalities or complications. These results suggest that ibogaine can be a safe and effective treatment for dependence on stimulant and other non-opiate drugs.
Read full article (paid access)
Published online before print September 29, 2014,
doi: 10.1177/0269881114552713
Journal of Psychopharmacology November 2014 vol. 28 no. 11
1Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Departamento de Psiquiatria, Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
2Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
3M.P.P.G Hospital, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Brazil
4Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Programa de Orientação e Atendimento a Dependentes (PROAD), Departamento de Psiquiatria, Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
Ayahuasca and cancer treatment
Eduardo E Schenberg1, 2
Abstract
Objectives: Comprehensively review the evidence regarding the use of ayahuasca, an Amerindian medicine traditionally used to treat many different illnesses and diseases, to treat some types of cancer.
Methods: An in-depth review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, books, institutional magazines, conferences and online texts in nonprofessional sources regarding the biomedical knowledge about ayahuasca in general with a specific focus in its possible relations to the treatment of cancer.
Results: At least nine case reports regarding the use of ayahuasca in the treatment of prostate, brain, ovarian, uterine, stomach, breast, and colon cancers were found. Several of these were considered improvements, one case was considered worse, and one case was rated as difficult to evaluate. A theoretical model is presented which explains these effects at the cellular, molecular, and psychosocial levels. Particular attention is given to ayahuasca’s pharmacological effects through the activity of N,N-dimethyltryptamine at intracellular sigma-1 receptors. The effects of other components of ayahuasca, such as harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline, are also considered.
Conclusion: The proposed model, based on the molecular and cellular biology of ayahuasca’s known active components and the available clinical reports, suggests that these accounts may have consistent biological underpinnings. Further study of ayahuasca’s possible antitumor effects is important because cancer patients continue to seek out this traditional medicine. Consequently, based on the social and anthropological observations of the use of this brew, suggestions are provided for further research into the safety and efficacy of ayahuasca as a possible medicinal aid in the treatment of cancer.
Objectives: Comprehensively review the evidence regarding the use of ayahuasca, an Amerindian medicine traditionally used to treat many different illnesses and diseases, to treat some types of cancer.
Methods: An in-depth review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, books, institutional magazines, conferences and online texts in nonprofessional sources regarding the biomedical knowledge about ayahuasca in general with a specific focus in its possible relations to the treatment of cancer.
Results: At least nine case reports regarding the use of ayahuasca in the treatment of prostate, brain, ovarian, uterine, stomach, breast, and colon cancers were found. Several of these were considered improvements, one case was considered worse, and one case was rated as difficult to evaluate. A theoretical model is presented which explains these effects at the cellular, molecular, and psychosocial levels. Particular attention is given to ayahuasca’s pharmacological effects through the activity of N,N-dimethyltryptamine at intracellular sigma-1 receptors. The effects of other components of ayahuasca, such as harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline, are also considered.
Conclusion: The proposed model, based on the molecular and cellular biology of ayahuasca’s known active components and the available clinical reports, suggests that these accounts may have consistent biological underpinnings. Further study of ayahuasca’s possible antitumor effects is important because cancer patients continue to seek out this traditional medicine. Consequently, based on the social and anthropological observations of the use of this brew, suggestions are provided for further research into the safety and efficacy of ayahuasca as a possible medicinal aid in the treatment of cancer.
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Published October 21, 2013
doi: 10.1177/2050312113508389
SAGE Open Medicine January - December 2013 vol. 1
1Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Departamento de Psiquiatria, Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
2Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
The Mythical Brain: Is the Science of Movie Lucy Wrong?
Eduardo E Schenberg1
Abstract
The movie Lucy (2014) explores the idea that we use only 10% of our brains which, according to an editorial in Nature Neuroscience, is wrong. However, we may reframe the myth to reveal the underlying meaning: it is not about using just 10% of the brain, but about perceiving only a very small fraction of what the brain is doing. If we will, we can stop our usual, daily routine activities, or our usual day dreaming, and immediately we start noticing more. The alternative interpretation to Lucy is that the movie is not about the brain, but about consciousness. Change the metaphor and you get a totally different meaning.
The movie Lucy (2014) explores the idea that we use only 10% of our brains which, according to an editorial in Nature Neuroscience, is wrong. However, we may reframe the myth to reveal the underlying meaning: it is not about using just 10% of the brain, but about perceiving only a very small fraction of what the brain is doing. If we will, we can stop our usual, daily routine activities, or our usual day dreaming, and immediately we start noticing more. The alternative interpretation to Lucy is that the movie is not about the brain, but about consciousness. Change the metaphor and you get a totally different meaning.
Read full article (open access)
Published November, 2014
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research November 2014, Volume 5, Issue 11
1Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil
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