Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
July 9, 2026
Sofía Villalba, Agustín Martínez Christensen, Lucia di Costanzo et al.
In recent years, psychedelics have shown promising results as therapeutic interventions for individuals with depression, terminal illnesses, substance use disorder, neurodegenerative diseases, trauma and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Moreover, research involving psychedelics have contributed to the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms behind the "psychedelic state of consciousness"...
Revista de Psiquiatría del uruguay
July 1, 2026
María M. Penengo, Marta Vázquez, Laura Ramos et al.
página 48|Revista de Psiquiatría del Uruguay|Volumen 90 Nº 1 Julio 2026| Psicodélicos en psiquiatría: un modelo multidimensional para el análisis...Resumo Nos últimos anos, o renovado interesse pelo uso medicinal dos psicodélicos adquiriu um caráter hipermidiatizado, estendendo sua presença de contextos clínicos e rituais tradicionais para cenários mais amplos, nos quais os objetivos...
BMC Neuroscience
May 13, 2026
Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al.
Psychedelics have emerged as powerful modulators of neural plasticity, yet whether the atypical psychedelic ibogaine can enhance plasticity remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether a single administration of ibogaine can reinstate juvenile-like experience-dependent plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex, a canonical model for studying neuroplasticity. Adult mice were...
Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry
March 30, 2026
Romina Belen González, Gonzalo Adrián Ojeda, Ana Melissa González Miragliotta et al.
Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) is an ecologically adaptable species native to South America, thriving across a variety of ecosystems, including the dry forests and savannas of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, as well as the Andean highlands of Peru and Chile. Beyond its ecological significance, A. colubrina var. cebil is noted for its traditional use in ethnomedicine and...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 30, 2026
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Frank Lozano Jara et al.
Abstract Background This study presents the qualitative findings of interdisciplinary research exploring ayahuasca-induced experiences in two distinct groups in Uruguay: a neo-shamanic group rooted in the Peruvian vegetalismo tradition and a Santo Daime Church. Aims Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the study examines similarities and differences in subjective experiences during a...
Journal of the American Chemical Society
December 26, 2025
Christopher Hwu, Václav Havel, Xavier Westergaard et al.
2 citations
) that has a unique therapeutic potential across multiple indications, including opioid dependence, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI). We systematically examined the effects of ibogaine, its main metabolite noribogaine, and a series of iboga analogs at monoamine neurotransmitter transporters, some of which have...
Research Square
December 18, 2025
Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al.
Abstract Background: Psychedelics have emerged as powerful modulators of neural plasticity, yet whether the atypical psychedelic ibogaine can enhance plasticity remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether a single administration of ibogaine can reinstate juvenile-like experience-dependent plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex, a canonical model for studying neuroplasticity....
ACS Omega
November 10, 2025
Luisina Castelli Rodríguez, Guillermo Morera, Sandra Lupo et al.
1 citation
Psychedelic mushrooms of the Psilocybe genus contain the psychoactive tryptamines psilocybin and psilocin, compounds currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of depression and other psychiatric conditions. However, the accurate quantification of these alkaloids in fungal matrices remains analytically challenging. Here, we report an optimized extraction protocol and a robust,...
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
August 1, 2025
Sofía Villalba, Sofia Bosch, Lucia di Constanzo et al.
1 citation
Noribogaine (Noribo) is the primary metabolite from ibogaine, an atypical psychedelic. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Noribo on thalamic physiology of calcium channels voltage activation and gene expression and the potential involvement of the 5-HT2A receptor on those effects. Thus, we used male and female, 5-HT2AR knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice, injected...
Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2024
Juan Pedro Castro-Nin, Diego Serantes, Paola Rodríguez et al.
4 citations
Ibogaine is a potent atypical psychedelic that has gained considerable attention due to its antiaddictive and antidepressant properties in preclinical and clinical studies. Previous research from our group showed that ibogaine suppresses sleep and produces an altered wakefulness state, which resembles natural REM sleep. However, after systemic administration, ibogaine is rapidly metabolized to...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
January 5, 2024
Sofía Villalba, Bruno González, Stephanie Junge et al.
9 citations
Noribogaine (noribo) is the primary metabolite from ibogaine, an atypical psychedelic alkaloid isolated from the root bark of the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral responses of noribo are mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) in mice. In that regard, we used male and female,...
IBRO Neuroscience Reports
October 1, 2023
Mariana Pazos, Ignacio Carrera, Giselle Prunell
1 citation
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic beverage originally from the Amazon rainforest used in different shamanic settings for a variety of medicinal, spiritual, and cultural purposes. It is prepared by decoction of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, source of β-carboline alkaloids, and, Psychotria viridis containing the classic psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). As part of the “renaissance of...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 28, 2023
Juan Pedro Castro-Nin, Diego Serantes, Paola Rodrı́guez et al.
1 citation
preprint
Abstract Ibogaine is a potent atypical psychedelic that has gained considerable attention due to its antiaddictive and antidepressant properties in preclinical and clinical studies. Previous research from our group showed that ibogaine suppresses sleep and produces an altered wakefulness state which resembles natural REM sleep. However, after systemic administration, ibogaine is rapidly...
Journal of Natural Products
June 23, 2023
Bruno González, Nicolás Veiga, Gonzalo Hernández et al.
7 citations
The iboga alkaloids scaffold shows great potential as a pharmacophore in drug candidates for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Thus, the study of the reactivity of this type of motif is particularly useful for the generation of new analogs suitable for medicinal chemistry goals. In this article, we analyzed the oxidation pattern of ibogaine and voacangine using dioxygen, peroxo...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2023
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Luisina Rodríguez et al.
4 citations
This study is an interdisciplinary research into Uruguayan ayahuasca users belonging to one neo-shamanic and one Santo Daime group. The study involved the chemical analysis of ayahuasca samples, an ethnographic description of the two traditions and rituals, and the application of psychometric scales to measure personality differences, and the acute psychological effects during an ayahuasca...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 2, 2022
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Ignacio Carrera et al.
6 citations
Abstract Background Ayahuasca's psychological and subjective effects were compared in rituals of two neoshamanic groups in Uruguay. Aims Compare, describe and analyze psychological effects and subjective experiences of ayahuasca ceremonies in two different groups: a psychospiritual holistic center, and a center specialized in substance use disorder's treatment. Methods A mixed...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
May 4, 2022
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Ignacio Carrera et al.
14 citations
The current article presents a mixed qualitative-quantitative observational study of the effect of ayahuasca ritual on subjective experiences and personality traits on participants of a center specialized in the treatment of substance use disorder in Uruguay. When comparing the psychological traits of ayahuasca participants to a control group, quantitative results using the...
ACS Omega
April 1, 2022
Luisina Castelli Rodríguez, Andrés Mariño López, Guillermo Moyna et al.
28 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic beverage originally from the Amazon rainforest used in different shamanic settings for medicinal, spiritual, and cultural purposes. It is prepared by boiling in water an admixture of the Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi, which is a source of β-carboline alkaloids, with plants containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine, usually Psychotria viridis. While previous studies have...
ACS Omega
July 6, 2021
Bruno González, Catherine Fagúndez, Alejandro Peixoto de Abreu Lima et al.
18 citations
Iboga alkaloids are a group of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids with promising and intriguing biological activities. Ibogaine is the representative member of the series and has become widely known as a potent atypical psychedelic with promising effects to treat substance use disorder. Nowadays, an efficient and scalable enantioselective total synthesis of ibogaine and related iboga alkaloids is...
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
April 9, 2021
Joaquín González, Matías Cavelli, Santiago Castro-Zaballa et al.
26 citations
Ibogaine is a psychedelic alkaloid that has attracted large scientific interest because of its antiaddictive properties in observational studies in humans as well as in animal models. Its subjective effect has been described as intense, vivid dream-like experiences occurring while awake; hence, ibogaine is often referred to as an oneirogenic psychedelic. While this unique dream-like profile has...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 29, 2020
Joaquín González, Matías Cavelli, Santiago Castro-Zaballa et al.
5 citations
preprint
Abstract Ibogaine is a psychedelic alkaloid that has attracted scientific interest because of its important antiaddictive properties evidenced in observational studies in humans, and in models for substance-use-disorders in rodents. Its subjective effect has been described as intense vivid dream-like experiences occurring while awake; hence, ibogaine is often referred to as an oneirogenic...
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
June 3, 2020
Paola Rodrı Guez, Jessika Urbanavicius, José Pedro Prieto et al.
44 citations
Anecdotal reports and open-label case studies in humans indicated that the psychedelic alkaloid ibogaine exerts profound antiaddictive effects. Ample preclinical evidence demonstrated the efficacy of ibogaine, and its main metabolite, noribogaine, in substance-use-disorder rodent models. In contrast to addiction research, depression-relevant effects of ibogaine or noribogaine in rodents have...
ChemRxiv
March 19, 2020
Paola Rodrı́guez, Jessika Urbanavicius, José Pedro Prieto et al.
1 citation
Anecdotal reports and open label case studies in humans indicated that the psychedelic alkaloid ibogaine exert profound anti-addictive effects. Ample preclinical evidence demonstrated the efficacy of ibogaine, and its main metabolite noribogaine, in substance use disorder rodent models. In contrast to addiction research, depression-relevant effects of ibogaine or noribogaine in rodents have not...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
2019
Soledad Marton, Bruno González, Sebastián Rodríguez-bottero et al.
71 citations
Ibogaine is an atypical psychedelic alkaloid, which has been subject of research due to its reported ability to attenuate drug-seeking behavior. Recent work has suggested that ibogaine effects on alcohol self-administration in rats are related to the release of Glial cell Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), a mesencephalic region which hosts the soma of...
ChemRxiv
October 29, 2018
Soledad Marton, Bruno González, Sebastián Rodríguez et al.
Ibogaine is a psychedelic alkaloid which has been subject of intense scientific research due to its reported ability to attenuate drug-seeking behavior. Recent work suggested that ibogaine effects on alcohol self-administration in rats was related to the release of Glial Cell Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), a mesencephalic region which hosts soma of...