Psychedelics
May 16, 2026
Nádia Valéria Moreira Santos, Cristiane Ferreira Silveira, Camila Gutieres Dos Santos Soares Costa et al.
Aim This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceived effects of ayahuasca ceremonies on suicidality. Method We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with nine participants from the North and Southeast regions of Brazil. These participants were part of a larger cohort and were selected to explore their perspectives on how ceremonial experiences with ayahuasca in neoshamanic contexts...
Substance Use & Misuse
April 25, 2022
Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Dóra Révész, Paulo Rogério Morais et al.
15 citations
Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that long-term ayahuasca use is associated with better psychosocial outcomes and less drug use; however, available data on the association between ayahuasca intake frequency and psychosocial outcomes is limited. Objectives: We sought to characterize and investigate the association of regular ayahuasca use, as compared to non-regular use, on licit...
Psychopharmacology
March 7, 2022
Yasmim A. Serra, Thaísa Barros-Santos, Alexia Anjos-Santos et al.
28 citations
Treatment with ayahuasca during alcohol abstinence blocked the expression of alcohol self-administration in mice, and 5-HT2A receptor activation is critical for those effects to emerge. Our findings support a potential for ayahuasca and other 5-HT2A receptor agonists as adjunctive pharmacotherapies for the treatment of AUD.
Psychopharmacology
July 16, 2020
Henrique Sousa Reis, Isa R S Rodrigues, Alexia Anjos-Santos et al.
21 citations
RationaleAccumulating evidence suggests that ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic beverage used in traditional Amazonian communities for ritualistic and curative purposes, has been associated with reduced rates of substance use disorders. However, the brain mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca have not yet been fully elucidated.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 29, 2018
Elisangela Gouveia Cata-Preta, Yasmim A. Serra, Eliseu Da Cruz Moreira-Junior et al.
50 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage produced from the decoction of Banisteriopsis caapi (Bc) and Psychotria viridis (Pv), β-carboline- and N,N-dimethyltryptamine(DMT)-containing plants, respectively. Accumulating evidence suggests that ayahuasca may have therapeutic effects on ethanol abuse. It is not known, however, whether its effects are dependent on the presence of DMT or if...
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...
Comprehensive Psychiatry
November 1, 2016
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Rick J. Strassman, Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira et al.
104 citations
Hoasca (also called ayahuasca) is a N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) - containing psychedelic brew originally used for magico-religious purposes by Amerindian populations of the Amazon Basin. Recently, Brazilian syncretic churches have helped spread the ritual use of hoasca to Western societies. The aim of this study was to evaluate substance use, and neuropsychological and psychological...
April 8, 2016
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Rafael Guimarães Dos Santos, Brian T Anderson et al.
2 citations
This chapter presents a series of reflections on the therapeutic potential of the ritual use of ayahuasca in the treatment and handling of substance dependence problems. It reviews anthropological and psychiatric data on the ritual use of ayahuasca for 'healing' dependence in psychotherapeutic centers as well as in ayahuasca religions. The chapter discusses methodological, ethical and political...
PLoS One
August 8, 2012
José Carlos Bouso, Débora González, Sabela Fondevila et al.
313 citations
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive plant beverage containing the serotonergic 5-HT(2A) agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase-inhibiting alkaloids (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine) that render it orally active. Ayahuasca ingestion is a central feature in several Brazilian syncretic churches that have expanded their activities to urban Brazil, Europe and North...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2012
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Suely Mizumoto, Michael P. Bogenschutz et al.
112 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew originally used for magico-religious purposes by Amerindian populations of the western Amazon Basin. Throughout the last four decades, the use of ayahuasca spread towards major cities in all regions of Brazil and abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine- and harmala-alkaloid-containing tea may lead to mental and...
Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo)
2011
Suely Mizumoto, Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira, Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa et al.
14 citations
BACKGROUND: There is a growing scientific interest in the effects of hallucinogens in general and the religious use of psychoactive brew ayahuasca in Brazil in particular. However, there is not yet a standard instrument used in Brazil to evaluate the effects of hallucinogens. The Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) is a questionnaire widely used in the U.S. and Europe to evaluate the effects of...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 17, 2010
Josep María Fábregas, Débora González, Sabela Fondevila et al.
228 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage used for magico-religious purposes in the Amazon. Recently, Brazilian syncretic churches have helped spread the ritual use of ayahuasca abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine-containing tea may lead to the medical and psychosocial problems typically associated with drugs of abuse. Here we assess potential drug...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 1, 2009
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Irene Maurício Cazorla, Joel Sales Giglio et al.
113 citations
The authors assessed 23 subjects immediately before and six months (27.5 weeks) after their first ayahuasca experience in an urban Brazilian religious setting, either Santo Daime (N = 15) or União do Vegetal (N = 8). Measures included scores on instruments assessing psychiatric symptoms, personality variables and quality of life. Independent variables were the frequency of ayahuasca use...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
June 1, 2005
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Joel Sales Giglio, Paulo Dalgalarrondo
121 citations
This report describes psychological assessments of the first time ritual use of ayahuasca in the religious groups União do Vegetal and Santo Daime. Nineteen subjects who tried the beverage in Santo Daime rituals and nine subjects who tried it in União do Vegetal rituals were evaluated one to four days before their first ayahuasca experience in life and one to two weeks after this experience....