Psychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances. Natural psychedelics have been used for millennia by human civilizations, in particular in Latin America, while synthetic psychedelics were discovered in the 50s, giving rise to a lot of research before they were prohibited. More recently, their therapeutic properties have been studied especially to help patients with psychiatric conditions,...
Abstract Introduction Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic compounds, including the Amazonian botanical decoction ayahuasca, may provide clinical benefit in the treatment of alcohol or other drug use disorders. This study investigates associations between ayahuasca consumption in naturalistic settings and current alcohol and other drug use. Methods Online cross‐sectional study of people...
The use certain writers make of “substances”, like coffee, tobacco, or alcohol, to inspire themselves is an intriguing subject. Does dependence on such stimulants necessarily harm a writer´s judgment and ruin him in the end? Is it valid to condemn it as “addiction” when it is he or she who writes the book, not the bourbon or marijuana and what counts is its quality, not the writer´s character?...
This article explores the use of Cyperus articulates in Putumayo, Colombia. This often-overlooked medicinal plant, known here as chondur, is used as a shamanic tool to fight the multiplicity of spiritual agents that can cause illness in western Amazonia. It also has a central role in yagé/ ayahuasca ceremonies, placing it in a unique position for an analytical observation of the dynamics of...
Psychedelics are a hallucinogenic class of psychoactive drugs with the primary effect of activating non-ordinary states of consciousness. Due to the positive preliminary findings of these drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, the number of registered clinical studies has risen significantly. In this paper, clinical studies registered on clinicaltrials.gov that evaluate the treatment...
Abstract Background Ayahuasca is a classic hallucinogen with anxiolytic and antidepressive properties. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that it improves performance (eg, singing, speech). This controlled trial assessed the effects of ayahuasca on speech performance and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder. Methods Seventeen volunteers with social anxiety disorder participated in...
The growing interest in research on psychedelic consumption in naturalistic contexts and their possible medical and therapeutic benefits requires assessment of the relationships between the substance and the individual who consumes it (set) and its context of use (setting). This study provides a novel measurement scale for the setting of Ayahuasca consumption, the Setting Questionnaire for the...
Abstract Harmine is a β-carboline found in Banisteriopsis caapi , a constituent of ayahuasca brew. Ayahuasca is consumed as a beverage in native Americans’ sacred rituals and in religious ceremonies in Brazil. Throughout the years, the beneficial effects of ayahuasca to improve mental health and life quality have been reported, which propelled the investigation of its therapeutic potential to...
Ayahuasca is a natural psychoactive brew, used in traditional ceremonies in the Amazon basin. Recent research has indicated that ayahuasca is pharmacologically safe and its use may be positively associated with improvements in psychiatric symptoms. The mechanistic effects of ayahuasca are yet to be fully established. In this prospective naturalistic study, 63 self-selected participants took...
César Calvo explores the Peruvian Amazon through a shamanic consciousness in his autobiographical Las tres mitades de Ino Moxo y otros brujos de la Amazonía . Like the other authors considered here, as Calvo tells a story of personal adventure, he also relates a critical history of the violence caused by outsiders seeking enterprise in Amazonia. Calvo presents the entheogenic plant-based brew...
O objetivo desse artigo foi analisar os discursos de parceiros, participantes de rituais e turistas que visitam a Terra Indígena do Rio Gregório, no Acre, acerca das concepções de experiência espiritual e cultural em torno da bebida ayahuasca oferecida pelos Yawanawá em cerimonias urbanas e na atividade turística da aldeia Yawarani. A partir de uma pesquisa etnográfica desenvolvida entre 2016 e...
Background: In Peruvian Amazonian medicine, plant diets ( dietas ) are a fundamental and highly flexible technique with a variety of uses: from treating and preventing illness, to increasing strength and resilience, to rites of passage, to learning even medicine itself. Many of the plants used in diets are psychoactive; for example, one now well-known plant that can be dieted is Banisteriopsis...
Introduction: Ayahuasca is a traditional psychoactive tea of Amazonian indigenous, used medicinal and spiritual purposes. Wide variation in the concentration of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), Harmaline (HRL), Harmine (HRM) and Tetrahydroharmine (THH) alkaloids in Ayahuasca has been reported worldwide. Objective: To evaluate the causes of variations in alkaloids concentrations of Ayahuasca...
The present study describes the protocol for the Ayahuasca Treatment Outcome Project (ATOP) with a special focus on the evaluation of addiction treatment services provided through Takiwasi Center, the first ATOP study site. The goal of the project is to assess treatment outcomes and understand the therapeutic mechanisms of an Ayahuasca-assisted, integrative treatment model for addiction...
Literature has been showing a growing interest on the research of psychedelics and their possible medical and therapeutic benefits. Due to its geographic position and other sociocultural factors, ayahuasca, a beverage of Amazonian origin, is a psychedelic that stands out in Brazil. Historically used by different indigenous peoples and, in the last century, by members of certain religious...
Promoting well-being is one of the main goals to improve health in the world. We examined the well-being and quality of life over the course of one year in a sample that participated in an Indigenous Shipibo healing program where traditional healers work in a series of ayahuasca ceremonies. We also explored the role of decentering as a mediator of psychological well-being. Participants who...
Set and setting is a fundamental concept in the field of psychedelic drug research, which points to the profound dependence of psychedelic effects on psychological, social, and cultural factors. Santo Daime is a Brazilian religion that makes elaborate use of ordering principles, techniques, and symbology to shape and direct the effects of the hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca. This paper...
[ Abb. 1 ] zeigt die Strukturformel, die Anwendungsarten und die handelsüblichen Formen von DMT (Dimethyltryptamin). Substanz Tryptaminhaltige Pflanzen wurden über mehrere 1000 Jahre von südamerikanischen Ureinwohnern bei religiösen Ritualen und zu medizinischen Zwecken eingenommen. Ziel dabei war die Provokation visionärer Erlebnisse als Kontaktaufnahme mit einer jenseitigen Welt, z. B. um die...
The use of psychedelic treatments has shown very promising results in some psychiatric and addictive disorders, but not all patients achieved a response. The aim of this review is to explore the clinical and biological factors which could predict the response to psychedelics in psychiatric and addictive disorders. A systematic research was performed on MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Web of science, and...
ABSTRACT Background: Depression is a highly disabling common mental disorder and, due to its multifactorial nature, the development of effective therapies is challenging and of great relevance. Ayahuasca (AYA), an entheogenic traditional beverage, has emerged as an alternative for antidepressant treatment, however, AYA preclinical and clinical trials are still incipient. Objectives: This...