Ibogaine is claimed to be an effective treatment for opiate and stimulant addiction. O'Hearn and Molliver, however, showed that ibogaine causes degeneration of cerebellar Purkinje cells in rats. The present study re-examined cerebellar responses to the high doses of ibogaine used by O'Hearn and Molliver (100 mg/kg or 3 x 100 mg/kg) and sought to determine whether a lower dose (40 mg/kg), one...
Ibogaine, a naturally occurring iboga alkaloid, has been claimed to be effective in treating addiction to opioids and stimulants, and has been reported to inhibit morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats. However, ibogaine also has acute nonspecific side effects (e.g. tremors, decreased motivated behavior in general) as well as neurotoxic effects (Purkinje cell loss) manifested in the...