Moderators of ayahuasca’s biological antidepressant action
Geovan Menezes de Sousa, Vagner Deuel de Oliveira Tavares, Ana Cecília de Menezes Galvão, Raíssa Nóbrega de Almeida, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Bruno Lobão‐soares, Fúlvio Aurélio de Morais Freire, Emerson Arcoverde Nunes, João Paulo Maia‐de‐oliveira, Daniel Perkins, Jerome Sarris, Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Nicole Leite Galvão‐coelho
Frontiers in Psychiatry December 5, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1033816 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 72 |
| Population | Patients with treatment-resistant depression and healthy volunteers |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Duration | 2 days after intervention |
| Topics | Depression Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Cortisol Inflammation Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens Psychedelic medicine Mental health depression Mood disorders Psychological wellbeing Neuroscience bdnf Brain chemistry Neurotransmitters |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Larger reductions in depressive symptoms during ayahuasca dosing moderated higher serum cortisol levels, while smaller changes in salivary cortisol were linked to higher BDNF levels in patients with greater clinical response. |
Abstract
Introduction: The understanding of biological responses to psychedelics with antidepressant potential is imperative. Here we report how a set of acute parameters, namely emotional (depressive symptoms), cognitive (psychedelic experience), and physiological (salivary cortisol), recorded during an ayahuasca dosing session, modulated serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), serum cortisol (SC), serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), and salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR).
Methods: Results were analyzed 2 days after the psychedelic intervention (ayahuasca) versus placebo in both patients with treatment-resistant depression and healthy volunteers. These measures were assessed as part of a randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial ( n = 72).
Results: Results revealed that larger reductions of depressive symptoms during the dosing session significantly moderated higher levels of SC in patients. Whereas lesser changes in salivary cortisol levels during the ayahuasca intervention were related to higher BDNF levels in patients with a larger clinical response in the reduction in depressive symptoms. No moderator was found for patient’s CAR, IL-6, and CRP responses to ayahuasca and for all biomarker responses to ayahuasca in healthy controls and in the placebo group.
Discussion: In summary, some specific emotional and physiological parameters during experimental ayahuasca session were revealed as critical moderators of the improvement of major depression biomarkers, mainly BDNF and SC two days after ayahuasca intake. These findings contribute to paving the way for future studies investigating the biological antidepressant response to psychedelic therapy.