Psychopharmacology (Berl)
February 18, 2022
Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Lucas Oliveira Maia, Carolina Marcolino Massarentti et al.
RationaleSmoking-related disease is a major problem globally. Effective smoking cessation treatments are however limited. Increasing evidence suggests that psychedelics have potential as treatments for substance use disorders and may therefore prove an option in aiding smoking cessation.ObjectivesTo establish which factors predict smoking cessation in people who reported quitting or reducing...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 1, 2022
Isabel Wießner, Marcelo Falchi-Carvalho, Lucas Oliveira Maia et al.
43 citations
Background: Controversy surrounds psychedelics and their potential to boost creativity. To date, psychedelic studies lack a uniform conceptualization of creativity and methodologically rigorous designs. Aims: This study aimed at addressing previous issues by examining the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on creativity using multimodal tasks and multidimensional approaches. Methods:...
PLOS global public health
2022
José Carlos Bouso, Óscar Andión, Jerome Sarris et al.
115 citations
Ayahuasca is a plant-based decoction native to Amazonia, where it has a long history of use in traditional medicine. Contemporary ritual use of ayahuasca has been expanding throughout the world for mental health purposes, and for spiritual and personal growth. Although researchers have been conducting clinical trials and observational studies reporting medical and psychological benefits, most...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 17, 2021
Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Vanessa Manchim Favaro, Luís Fernando Tófoli et al.
6 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew from the decoction of different Amazonian plants, traditionally used in several cultures, religions, and rituals. Scientific studies with ayahuasca are rapidly increasing due to its subjective effects and therapeutic potential. Although ayahuasca is traditionally used in its liquid presentation, lyophilized (freeze-dried) ayahuasca is often used in scientific...
Drug and Alcohol Review
July 25, 2021
Daniel Perkins, Emérita Sátiro Opaleye, Hana Šimonová et al.
54 citations
Abstract Introduction Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic compounds, including the Amazonian botanical decoction ayahuasca, may provide clinical benefit in the treatment of alcohol or other drug use disorders. This study investigates associations between ayahuasca consumption in naturalistic settings and current alcohol and other drug use. Methods Online cross‐sectional study of people...
Frontiers in Psychology
June 23, 2021
Alexandre Augusto de Deus Pontual, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Carlos Fernando Collares et al.
14 citations
The growing interest in research on psychedelic consumption in naturalistic contexts and their possible medical and therapeutic benefits requires assessment of the relationships between the substance and the individual who consumes it (set) and its context of use (setting). This study provides a novel measurement scale for the setting of Ayahuasca consumption, the Setting Questionnaire for the...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 9, 2021
Simon Ruffell, Nige Netzband, WaiFung Tsang et al.
74 citations
Ayahuasca is a natural psychoactive brew, used in traditional ceremonies in the Amazon basin. Recent research has indicated that ayahuasca is pharmacologically safe and its use may be positively associated with improvements in psychiatric symptoms. The mechanistic effects of ayahuasca are yet to be fully established. In this prospective naturalistic study, 63 self-selected participants took...
Front Pharmacol
April 21, 2021
Daniel Perkins, Violeta Schubert, Hana Šimonová et al.
73 citations
Influence of Context and Setting on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes of Ayahuasca Drinkers: Results of a Large International Survey.
Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
February 6, 2021
Jerome Sarris, Daniel Perkins, Lachlan Cribb et al.
72 citations
Background\nAyahuasca is a psychoactive Amazonian brew which has emerging data indicating that it has antidepressant and anxiolytic properties.\n\nMethods\nThis paper uses data from the Global Ayahuasca Project (GAP), which was undertaken across 2017-2020 and involved 11912 people, to examine the perceived effects of ayahuasca consumption on affective symptoms. The study focused on the...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
December 7, 2020
Lucas Oliveira Maia, Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Luís Fernando Tófoli
33 citations
Diseases that threaten life raise existential questions that can be a source of psychological distress. Studies with psychedelics demonstrate therapeutic effects for anxiety and depression associated with life-threatening illnesses. Ayahuasca has been proposed as a possible therapeutic agent in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Preliminary studies suggest that ayahuasca could promote...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 8, 2020
Helle Kaasik, Rita C. Z. Souza, Flávia Da Silva Zandonadi et al.
54 citations
Traditional ayahuasca can be defined as a brew made from Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi and Amazonian admixture plants. Ayahuasca is used by indigenous groups in Amazonia, as a sacrament in syncretic Brazilian religions, and in healing and spiritual ceremonies internationally. The study aimed to determine concentrations of the main bio- and psychoactive components of ayahuasca used in...
Biological Trace Element Research
June 5, 2020
Ivanilce Cristina Guimarães, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Alessandra Sussulini
7 citations
The consumption of ayahuasca, a brew prepared from the decoction of two Amazon plants, has increased worldwide in the last decades. This fact raised questions about the safety in its oral administration. In this sense, information concerning the chemical composition of ayahuasca is essential to find a comprehensive reply. Therefore, the aim of this study consisted of determining the elemental...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
December 6, 2019
Felipe Augusto Cini da Silva, Isis M. Ornelas, Encarni Marcos et al.
9 citations
preprint
Abstract Psychedelic agonists of serotonin receptors induce neural plasticity and synaptogenesis, but their potential to enhance learning remains uncharted. Here we show that a single dose of d-LSD, a potent serotonergic agonist, increased novel object preference in young and adult rats several days after treatment. d-LSD alone did not increase preference in old animals, but could rescue it to...
Journal of Chromatography B
June 8, 2019
Rita C. Z. Souza, Flávia Da Silva Zandonadi, Donizete P. Freitas et al.
42 citations
Ayahuasca is a brew prepared from the water decoction of two Amazonian plants, which is legally used for religious, cultural or therapeutic activities. The potential use of ayahuasca as a natural or phytotherapeutic drug is directly linked to the action of its active compounds and their connection with the therapeutic efficacy of the beverage. In this context, the aim of the present study was...
Revista dos Trabalhos de Iniciação Científica da UNICAMP
December 13, 2018
Carolina Marcolino Massarentti, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Lucas Oliveira Maia et al.
A Ayahuasca é um psicodélico utilizado em um contexto ritualístico e por religiões sincréticas brasileiras. Os usuários relatam experiências como aparecimento de imagens visuais com olhos fechados, indução de um estado de introspecção e reflexão, indução de memórias, desencadeamento de emoções intensas, insights sobre preocupações pessoais e cura de males físicos e psicológico. Neste contexto,...
Psychological Medicine
June 15, 2018
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al.
827 citations
Abstract Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
April 24, 2018
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Michael P. Bogenschutz et al.
95 citations
The aims of this study were to assess the impact of ceremonial use of ayahuasca-a psychedelic brew containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline -and attendance at União do Vegetal (UDV) meetings on substance abuse; here we report the findings related to alcohol and tobacco use disorder. A total of 1,947 members of UDV 18+ years old were evaluated in terms of years of membership and...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
August 29, 2017
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg, Maria Angélica de Castro Comis, João Felipe Morel Alexandre et al.
39 citations
Objective This report documents the phenomenology of the subjective experiences of 22 patients with substance-related disorders who were involved in a treatment combining cognitive–behavioral therapy and hospital sessions with ibogaine in Brazil. Methods Participants underwent a one-to-one semi-structured interview exploring the subjective effects of ibogaine. We employed interpretative...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 1, 2017
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg, Maria Angélica de Castro Comis, João Felipe Morel Alexandre et al.
29 citations
Substance use disorders are important contributors to the global burden of disease, but current treatments are not associated with high rates of recovery. The lack of approved and effective treatments is acutely problematic for psychostimulants like cocaine and crack cocaine. One promising alternative in the treatment of drug dependence in general and psychostimulants in particular is the use...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
January 27, 2017
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al.
22 citations
preprint
Abstract Recent open label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. In order to further test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either...
Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo)
2017
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Daniel Rezinovsky et al.
28 citations
Background: The States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SOCQ) was developed to assess the occurrence features of the change in consciousness induced by psilocybin, and includes the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), developed to assess the ocurrence of mystical experiences in altered states of consciousness. Objective: To translate the SOCQ to Brazilian Portuguese and validate the 30-item...
PLoS One
February 18, 2015
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Kátia C. Andrade, Luís Fernando Tófoli et al.
461 citations
The experiences induced by psychedelics share a wide variety of subjective features, related to the complex changes in perception and cognition induced by this class of drugs. A remarkable increase in introspection is at the core of these altered states of consciousness. Self-oriented mental activity has been consistently linked to the Default Mode Network (DMN), a set of brain regions more...