Ayahuasca’s ‘afterglow’: improved mindfulness and cognitive flexibility in ayahuasca drinkers
Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner, Kirstie Soar
Psychopharmacology January 11, 2020 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05445-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Ayahuasca drinkers (both naïve and experienced) |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Anxiety Ayahuasca Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognitive flexibility Cognition Clinical psychology Flexibility engineering Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 142 |
| Key findings | Ayahuasca enhances mindfulness and alters cognitive flexibility in the afterglow period, suggesting these as possible psychological mechanisms for its psychotherapeutic effects. |
Abstract
The present study supports ayahuasca's ability to enhance mindfulness and further reports changes in cognitive flexibility in the 'afterglow' period occur, suggesting both could be possible psychological mechanisms concerning the psychotherapeutic effects of ayahuasca. Given psychological gains occurred regardless of prior ayahuasca use suggests potentially therapeutic effects for both naïve and experienced ayahuasca drinkers.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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Ayahuasca enhanced mindfulness and altered cognitive flexibility in the afterglow period, suggested as possible mechanisms for its psychotherapeutic effects.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on ayahuasca for anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| A placebo-controlled study of the effects of ayahuasca, set and setting on mental health of participants in ayahuasca group retreats Experienced participants of ayahuasca retreats in the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany | 2021 | Naturalistic observational study | n = 30 |
| Persisting Effects of Ayahuasca on Empathy, Creative Thinking, Decentering, Personality, and Well-Being Volunteers attending ayahuasca ceremonies | 2021 | Naturalistic observational study | n = 43 |
| Ceremonial Ayahuasca in Amazonian Retreats—Mental Health and Epigenetic Outcomes From a Six-Month Naturalistic Study Self-selected participants in ayahuasca ceremonies at a retreat centre in the Peruvian... | 2021 | Prospective naturalistic study | n = 63 |
| Therapeutic potential of ayahuasca in grief: a prospective, observational study Bereaved individuals attending an ayahuasca retreat center in Peru | 2020 | Observational cohort | n = 50 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 116
- Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression. Nature Medicine April 11, 2022
- Towards an understanding of psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023
- Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology October 21, 2022
- Therapeutic Alliance and Rapport Modulate Responses to Psilocybin Assisted Therapy for Depression Frontiers in Pharmacology March 31, 2022
- Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Neuroplastic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotransmitter Mechanisms Pharmacological Reviews December 16, 2020
and 111 more in the library
Cites 28
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Archives of General Psychiatry September 7, 2010
and 23 more in the library