Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression
Rafael Faria Sanches, Flávia de Lima Osório, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Ligia Ribeiro Horta de Macedo, João Paulo Maia‐de‐oliveira, Lauro Wichert‐ana, Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Jordi Riba, José Alexandre S. Crippa, Jaime E. C. Hallak
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology December 11, 2015 DOI: 10.1097/jcp.0000000000000436 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Open-label trial Randomized Placebo-controlled Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 17 |
| Population | Patients with recurrent depression |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Dose | 2.2 mL/kg |
| Duration | 21-day follow-up |
| Topics | Ayahuasca Depression |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Anesthesia Depression economics Mood Mania Bipolar disorder Psychosis |
| Citations | 468 |
| Key findings | Ayahuasca administration was associated with significant and sustained decreases in depression rating scale scores and increased blood perfusion in mood-regulating brain regions. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian botanical hallucinogenic brew which contains dimethyltryptamine, a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, and harmine, a monoamine-oxidase A inhibitor. Our group recently reported that ayahuasca administration was associated with fast-acting antidepressive effects in 6 depressive patients. The objective of the present work was to assess the antidepressive potentials of ayahuasca in a bigger sample and to investigate its effects on regional cerebral blood flow. In an open-label trial conducted in an inpatient psychiatric unit, 17 patients with recurrent depression received an oral dose of ayahuasca (2.2 mL/kg) and were evaluated with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Young Mania Rating Scale, and the Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale during acute ayahuasca effects and 1, 7, 14, and 21 days after drug intake. Blood perfusion was assessed eight hours after drug administration by means of single photon emission tomography. Ayahuasca administration was associated with increased psychoactivity (Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale) and significant score decreases in depression-related scales (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) from 80 minutes to day 21. Increased blood perfusion in the left nucleus accumbens, right insula and left subgenual area, brain regions implicated in the regulation of mood and emotions, were observed after ayahuasca intake. Ayahuasca was well tolerated. Vomiting was the only adverse effect recorded, being reported by 47% of the volunteers. Our results suggest that ayahuasca may have fast-acting and sustained antidepressive properties. These results should be replicated in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for 2 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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A single oral dose of ayahuasca was associated with significant decreases in depression rating scale scores from 80 minutes to day 21, along with increased blood perfusion in mood-regulating brain regions.
Synthesized
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State of the evidence: Ayahuasca Supports
Ayahuasca administration was associated with significant and sustained decreases in depression rating scale scores and increased blood perfusion in mood-regulating brain regions.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on ayahuasca for depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid and sustained decreases in suicidality following a single dose of ayahuasca among individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder: results from an open-label trial. Individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder | 2021 | Open-label trial (secondary analysis) | n = 17 |
| Pilot Evaluation of a Residential Drug Addiction Treatment Combining Traditional Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca and Psychotherapy on Depression and Anxiety Male patients in an inpatient addiction treatment program | 2020 | Pre-post observational study | n = 31 |
| Long-term effects of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a 5-year qualitative follow-up Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder who had participated in an... | 2018 | Long-term follow-up of an open-label trial | n = 8 |
| A quantitative textual analysis of the subjective effects of ayahuasca in naïve users with and without depression. Nine patients with treatment-resistant depression and twenty healthy individuals | 2023 | Qualitative study with quantitative textual analysis of open-ended responses from a previous clinical trial | n = 29 |