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Enhancement of Creative Expression and Entoptic Phenomena as After-Effects of Repeated Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Ede Frecska, Csaba E. Móré, András Vargha, Luís Eduardo Luna

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs July 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2012.703099 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Naturalistic study Peer reviewed
Sample size 61
Population Self-motivated participants of ayahuasca rituals in Brazil and comparison subjects who did not participate in recent psychedelic use
Intervention Ayahuasca
Duration Two-week long ceremony series, tested the second day after the end
Topics Ayahuasca
Keywords Creativity Expression computer science Ceremony Theology Anthropology
Citations 88
Key points Repeated ingestion of ayahuasca in a ritual setting significantly increased the number of highly original solutions and phosphenic responses on visual creativity tests.

Abstract

Studying the effect of psychedelic substances on expression of creativity is a challenging problem. Our primary objective was to study the psychometric measures of creativity after a series of ayahuasca ceremonies at a time when the acute effects have subsided. The secondary objective was to investigate how entoptic phenomena emerge during expression of creativity. Forty individuals who were self-motivated participants of ayahuasca rituals in Brazil completed the visual components of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking before and the second day after the end of a two-week long ceremony series. Twenty-one comparison subjects who did not participate in recent psychedelic use also took the Torrance tests twice, two weeks apart. Repeated ingestion of ayahuasca in the ritual setting significantly increased the number of highly original solutions and phosphenic responses. However, participants in the ayahuasca ceremonies exhibited more phosphenic solutions already at the baseline, probably due to the fact that they had more psychedelic experiences within six months prior to the study than the comparison subjects did. This naturalistic study supports the notion that some measures of visual creativity may increase after ritual use of ayahuasca, when the acute psychoactive effects are receded. It also demonstrates an increased entoptic activity after repeated ayahuasca ingestion.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on ayahuasca, 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
The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network Experienced subjects 2015 Observational cohort n = 10
Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil Long-term members of a syncretic church that uses hoasca as a psychoactive sacrament... 1996 Observational cohort with matched controls n = 30
Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population 2013 Observational study
Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study Regular ayahuasca users and active controls in non-ayahuasca religions 2012 Observational cohort n = 242

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