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"...
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...
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...
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...
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...
) 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 SquareDecember 18, 2025Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al.
preprint
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....
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...