Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion
Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Sidarta Ribeiro, Guillermo Cecchi, Fabiana M. Carvalho, Tiago Arruda Sanchez, Joel Porfírio Pinto, Bruno Spinosa de Martinis, José Alexandre S. Crippa, Jaime E. C. Hallak, Antônio C. Santos
Human Brain Mapping September 16, 2011 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21381 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants (number not stated) |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Mental image Perception Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 241 |
| Key findings | Ayahuasca boosts activation in primary visual cortex during closed-eyes imagery to levels comparable to natural vision, and this activation correlates with perceptual changes. |
Abstract
Abstract The hallucinogenic brew Ayahuasca, a rich source of serotonergic agonists and reuptake inhibitors, has been used for ages by Amazonian populations during religious ceremonies. Among all perceptual changes induced by Ayahuasca, the most remarkable are vivid “seeings.” During such seeings, users report potent imagery. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a closed‐eyes imagery task, we found that Ayahuasca produces a robust increase in the activation of several occipital, temporal, and frontal areas. In the primary visual area, the effect was comparable in magnitude to the activation levels of natural image with the eyes open. Importantly, this effect was specifically correlated with the occurrence of individual perceptual changes measured by psychiatric scales. The activity of cortical areas BA30 and BA37, known to be involved with episodic memory and the processing of contextual associations, was also potentiated by Ayahuasca intake during imagery. Finally, we detected a positive modulation by Ayahuasca of BA 10, a frontal area involved with intentional prospective imagination, working memory and the processing of information from internal sources. Therefore, our results indicate that Ayahuasca seeings stem from the activation of an extensive network generally involved with vision, memory, and intention. By boosting the intensity of recalled images to the same level of natural image, Ayahuasca lends a status of reality to inner experiences. It is therefore understandable why Ayahuasca was culturally selected over many centuries by rain forest shamans to facilitate mystical revelations of visual nature. Hum Brain Mapp, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca enhances creative divergent thinking while decreasing conventional convergent thinking Participants at spiritual ayahuasca workshops | 2016 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 26 |
| Metabolism and disposition of N,N‐dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids after oral administration of ayahuasca Healthy male volunteers | 2012 | Observational pharmacokinetic study | n = 10 |
| New World Tryptamine Hallucinogens and the Neuroscience of Ayahuasca. | 2018 | Review with original neuroimaging and neurophysiological data | |
| Stability Evaluation of DMT and Harmala Alkaloids in Ayahuasca Tea Samples Ayahuasca tea samples | 2020 | Experimental study | |
| Ayahoasca: an experimental psychosis that mirrors the transmethylation hypothesis of schizophrenia. Healthy subjects | 1999 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 167
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- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial Psychological Medicine June 15, 2018
- Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 4, 2014
- The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network PLoS One February 18, 2015
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Cites 6
- Human Pharmacology of Ayahuasca: Subjective and Cardiovascular Effects, Monoamine Metabolite Excretion, and Pharmacokinetics Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics June 18, 2003
- Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers Psychopharmacology February 22, 2001
- Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-amazonian inebriant Psychopharmacology March 30, 2006
- Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members Journal of Ethnopharmacology April 26, 2007
- Agonist Properties of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine at Serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C Receptors Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior November 1, 1998
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