Resilience and Brain Changes in Long-Term Ayahuasca Users: Insights From Psychometric and fMRI Pattern Recognition.
Lucas Rego Ramos, Orlando Fernandes, Tiago Arruda Sanchez
Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging December 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.70063 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective cross-sectional, case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 38 |
| Population | Healthy male participants (19 long-term ayahuasca users and 19 non-user controls) |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Emotion regulation Machine learning Pattern recognition |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Long-term ayahuasca users showed significantly higher resilience scores and distinct neural patterns during emotional processing compared to non-user controls. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychedelic brew that contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and beta carbolines. Prolonged use has shown changes in cognitive-behavioral tasks, and in humans, there is evidence of changes in cortical thickness and an increase in neuroplasticity factors that could lead to modifications in functional neural circuits. To investigate the long-term effects of Ayahuasca usage through psychometric scales and fMRI data related to emotional processing using artificial intelligence tools. Retrospective Cross-sectional, case-control study. 38 healthy male participants (19 long-term Ayahuasca users and 19 non-user controls). 1.5 Tesla; gradient-echo T2*-weighted echo-planar imaging sequence during an implicit emotion processing task. Participants completed standardized psychometric scales including the Ego Resilience Scale (ER89). During fMRI, participants performed a gender judgment task using faces with neutral or aversive (disgust/fear) expressions. Whole-brain fMRI data were analyzed using multivariate pattern recognition. Group comparisons of psychometric scores were performed using Student's t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests based on normality. Multivariate pattern classification and regression were performed using machine learning algorithms: Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gaussian Process Classification/Regression (GPC/GPR), with k-fold cross-validation and permutation testing (n = 100-1000) to assess model significance (α = 0.05). Ayahuasca users (mean = 43.89; SD = 5.64) showed significantly higher resilience scores compared to controls (mean = 39.05; SD = 5.34). The MKL classifier distinguished users from controls with 75% accuracy (p = 0.005). The GPR model significantly predicted individual resilience scores (r = 0.69). Long-term Ayahuasca use may be associated with altered emotional brain reactivity and increased psychological resilience. These findings support a neural patterns consistent with long-term adaptations of Ayahuasca detectable via fMRI and machine learning-based pattern analysis. 4. Stage 1.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey of subjective "God encounter experiences": Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT Adults reporting a single most memorable God encounter experience, either nondrug or... | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 4,285 |
| Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey. Ayahuasca users from more than 50 countries who completed an online survey | 2022 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 10,836 |
| Ayahuasca in adolescence: a preliminary psychiatric assessment. Adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect and matched controls | 2005 | Controlled cross-sectional study | n = 80 |
| Psychological and neuropsychological assessment of regular hoasca users. Regular hoasca users from a U.S. branch of União do Vegetal and matched non-user controls | 2016 | Cross-sectional study | n = 57 |
| Indoleamine Hallucinogens in Cluster Headache: Results of the Clusterbusters Medication Use Survey People with cluster headache | 2015 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 496 |
Citations in the library
Cites 18
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology December 11, 2015
- The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network PLoS One February 18, 2015
- Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study PLoS One August 8, 2012
- Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-amazonian inebriant Psychopharmacology March 30, 2006
and 13 more in the library