Behavioural Brain Research
August 1, 2026
Alessandra Mara de Oliveira, Flavia R. Abe, Rafael G. Dos Santos et al.
Ibogaine has attracted increasing attention as a potential treatment for substance use disorders; however, its clinical application remains limited by well-documented cardiotoxicity, and its safety during early development is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the developmental cardiotoxic and neurobehavioral effects of ibogaine using zebrafish embryos and larvae as a translational model....
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
June 16, 2026
Daniel B.a. Prado, Matheus T. Rossignoli, Rafael N. Ruggiero et al.
Objective: Current treatments for schizophrenia (SZ) are often not effective for all symptoms, with sex-dependent effects poorly understood. Cannabidiol (CBD) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) have emerged as potential prophylactic options. We evaluated their efficacy in preventing positive, negative, and cognitive deficits in a ketamine (KET) rodent model of SZ in both sexes. Methods: Wistar rats...
Current Psychology
June 1, 2026
Geovan Menezes de Sousa, Geissy Lainny de Lima-Araújo, Vagner Deuel de Oliveira Tavares et al.
Abstract Dispositional mindfulness, also known as trait mindfulness, refers to an individual dispositional tendency to attend the present moment experiences with openness, curiosity and awareness. It is often associated with well-being, particularly through its role with emotional regulation. Yet, it is not well understood how it may influence the expression of major depression symptoms. This...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 31, 2026
Anna Beatriz Vicentini, Caio César De Paula, José Augusto Silva Reis et al.
The impact of classic psychedelics (5-HT2A receptor agonists) on personality traits has been studied for decades, and it has been hypothesized that the mechanisms underlying these changes are linked to agonism at cortical serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors. However, research results are contradictory. Therefore, the present paper aims to systematically evaluate the effects of psychedelics on...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 19, 2026
Pedro J. Teixeira, Jorge Encantado, Helena D Amaro et al.
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychoactive brew, has gained increasing attention for its potential health benefits; however, no previous research has investigated its use in Portugal. This study aims to evaluate the health status, lifestyle behaviors, and psychosocial well-being of Portuguese ayahuasca users, comparing their self-reported health indicators with population norms. A...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
March 9, 2026
Caio César De Paula, Anna Beatriz Vicentini, Lorena Terene Lopes Guerra et al.
Ayahuasca has aroused increasing interest due to its therapeutic effects. However, its effects on cognition are poorly understood. Hence, a systematic review evaluating the cognitive effects of ayahuasca was conducted. This systematic review was conducted in accordance to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed in...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
February 12, 2026
José Carlos Bouso, Óscar Andión, Sabela Fondevila Estévez et al.
The increasing interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and cannabis underscores the need to understand their long-term neuropsychological and personality effects. This cross-sectional study compared regular users of ayahuasca (n = 69), cannabis (n = 56), and non-substance users (n = 94) on a battery of neuropsychological tasks and psychological questionnaires. Participants were...
European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
February 1, 2026
Isabel Werle, Francisco S Guimarães, Rafael G. Dos Santos et al.
Rodent studies have shown that psychedelic drugs can enhance fear extinction. However, investigations to date have relied on normative aversive conditioning procedures, which limit their relevance to trauma-related memories, as these tend to be overgeneralized and resistant to extinction. Fear extinction depends on activity and plasticity within the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial...
Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
2026
Juliana Mendes Rocha, Renan Massanobu Maekawa, José Augusto Silva Reis et al.
INTRODUCTION: Ibogaine is a natural hallucinogen with emerging evidence for treating substance use disorders. However, its cardiovascular effects are not fully known, and most clinical data focus on opioid dependence, with limited data for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). This study assessed the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of ibogaine in patients with AUD. METHOD: In this...
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
October 20, 2025
Arthur L. De Oliveira, Danielle P. De Oliveira, Rafael G. Dos Santos et al.
Psychedelics are mind-altering substances that have shown promising effects in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders owing to their antidepressant, anxiolytic and antiaddictive effects. However, data on their developmental toxicity is scarce, which might hinder its therapeutic suitability, and preclinical data on their behavioral effects is mainly restricted to rodents. In this context,...
PLoS One
October 13, 2025
Francisco González-espejito, Laura Esteban Rodríguez, Eduardo J. Pedrero Pérez et al.
Ibogaine, an indole alkaloid derived from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga, has long been used in traditional Bwiti healing rituals and shows promise for treating opioid dependence and neurological conditions, but existing psychometric tools fail to capture its distinctive subjective/oneiric (dream-like) effects. To address this gap, we developed the 70-item Ibogaine Experience Scale (IES)...
Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
October 3, 2025
Lorena Terene Lopes Guerra, Isabella Caroline Da Silva Dias, Jaime E. C. Hallak et al.
2 citations
Similar to what happens with other psychedelics, there is an ongoing debate on subjective experience contribution to overall therapeutic mechanisms, which can depend on the targeted conditions. There are very few evidences from controlled studies, limiting the conclusions on safety and efficacy. On top of that, ayahuasca highly variable composition posits another challenge, and studies using...
Braz J Psychiatry
September 29, 2025
José Augusto S. Reis, Giordano N. Rossi, Anna Beatriz V. Zacharias et al.
Acute suicidal behavior following ayahuasca ingestion in a clinical trial setting: a case report.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 4, 2025
Giordano Novak Rossi, Rishma S. I. Khubsing, Eline Haijen et al.
Abstract Background and aims Research on classical psychedelics like ayahuasca is increasingly focused on treating mental disorders and enhancing well-being. Ayahuasca has shown promise in improving cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and sleep, though findings are mixed and further research is needed. This study tracked participants over three months, assessing cognitive flexibility,...
Psychoactives
July 15, 2025
Bianca Villanova, Giordano Novak Rossi, Lorena Terene Lopes Guerra et al.
Pain is a protective mechanism that can be classified into acute and chronic types. Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew rich in dimethyltryptamine or DMT (a 5-HT2A receptor agonist), and harmine (a monoamine-oxidase (MAO) inhibitor) used for religious and therapeutic purposes. Previous preclinical and anecdotal evidence suggests that ayahuasca and its compounds have antinociceptive and...
Psychedelics.
December 10, 2024
Lorena Terene Lopes Guerra, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Jaime E. C. Hallak
3 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic substance currently being investigated for the treatment of mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. Evidence from animal and human studies suggest that the effects of ayahuasca involve modulation of neural substrates relevant for emotional processing, especially in regions rich in serotonergic receptors. Moreover, preclinical studies also show that ayahuasca...
IBRO Neuroscience Reports
December 1, 2024
Gabriela N Vaz, Flávia C Turcato, Isabel A V Lima et al.
About one-third of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients demonstrate unresponsiveness to classic antidepressants, and even the clinical efficacy of fast-acting drugs such as ketamine varies significantly among patients with treatment-resistant depression. Nevertheless, the lack of suitable animal models that mimic a possible ketamine-resistant phenotype challenges the understanding of...
Front Psychiatry
November 6, 2024
Cristiano Chaves, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Serdar Dursun et al.
11 citations
"Iracema comes with the pot full of the green liquor. The shaman decrees the dreams to each warrior and distributes the wine of jurema, which carries the brave Tabajara to heaven." José de Alencar, in his poetic novel “Iracema” (1865)1. IntroductionThe "wine of jurema", used in ancient Brazilian shamanic rituals, is rich in N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a naturally occurring tryptamine like...
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
October 28, 2024
Kaike Thiê da Costa Gonçalves, Vagner Deuel O de Tavares, Maria Luiza de Morais Barros et al.
5 citations
This systematic review aims to elucidate the nexus between ketamine's psychoactive properties and its efficacy in treating a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders. We searched three databases and used citation tracking to include 29 studies. Predominantly, mood disorders, including bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) (MDD + BD: + n = 25 studies), a large part of them...
British Journal of Pharmacology
June 1, 2024
Isabel Werle, Laura M M Nascimento, Aymee L A Dos Santos et al.
21 citations
Ayahuasca (AYA) is a botanical psychedelic with promising results in observational and small clinical trials for depression, trauma and drug use disorders. Its psychoactive effects primarily stem from N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). However, there is a lack of research on how and where AYA acts in the brain. This study addressed these questions by examining the extinction of aversive memories in...
Psychoactives
December 11, 2023
Juliana Mendes Rocha, José Augusto Silva Reis, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
3 citations
As the research field with psychedelic substances grows, it is expected to encompass a more extensive cohort of individuals presenting a spectrum of medical conditions, comorbidities, and unique physiological traits, thereby increasing the likelihood of potential adverse events. Furthermore, it is worth noting that there is a scarcity of the specialized literature regarding procedures to ensure...
Psychoactives
November 17, 2023
Anna Beatriz Vicentini, Lucas Silva Rodrigues, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
4 citations
Alcohol is the recreational drug most frequently consumed, and its high frequency of use can lead to worsening social, psychological, and domestic issues. The age group most susceptible to alcohol dependence is 18- to 24-year-old youths, demanding interventional tools to target early involvement risks. Ayahuasca seems to be a promising therapeutic tool since evidence suggests it presents...
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
October 1, 2023
Juliana Mendes Rocha, José A S Reis, José Carlos Bouso et al.
21 citations
Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid derived from the west-African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. Western cultures are increasing the interest for the substance due to its claimed anti addictive properties, although the evidence supporting this effect is still preliminary. The use of ibogaine often occurs with no medical supervision in uncontrolled settings, and its use has been associated with...
Scientific Reports
September 11, 2023
José Carlos Bouso, Dóra Révész, Genís Ona et al.
9 citations
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The survey collected information about...
Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
June 1, 2023
José Carlos Bouso, Genís Ona, Maja Kohek et al.
8 citations
Hallucinations are currently associated almost exclusively with psychopathological states. While it is evident that hallucinations can indicate psychopathology or neurological disorders, we should remember that hallucinations also commonly occur in people without any signs of psychopathology. A similar case occurs in the case of hallucinogenic drugs, which have been long associated with...