Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant mixture typically composed of the beta-carboline-rich Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the hallucinogenic plant Psychotria viridis. Ayahuasca has long been used by aboriginal populations for its putative spiritual and medicinal benefits. Although the presumed primary chemical constituents of ayahuasca have been identified, little is known about the basic in vivo...
The psychedelic hallucinogens are comprised of three different groups of compounds according to Ž . Ž . their chemical structure Fig. 1 : 1 the ergolines Ž which contain an indole moiety e.g. lysergic acid . Ž . diethylamide, LSD ; 2 simple indoleamine hallucinoŽ gens e.g. N,N-dimethyltryptamine, DMT and psilocy. bin which share an indoleamine structure with the Ž endogenous neurotransmitter...
EEG data were recorded under field conditions from 11 members of the Santo Daime Doctrine, a Brazilian shamanistic religion, before and after ingesting the psychoactive alkaloid preparation, ayahuasca, or daime, as they term it. Post-ingestion, we observed increases in power in the 36-44 Hz frequency band ("40 Hz") from the left occipital-temporal-parietal scalp electrodes in the eyes-closed...
Background Ketamine has been associated with a unique spectrum of subjective "psychedelic" effects in patients emerging from anesthesia. This study quantified these effects of ketamine and related them to steady-state plasma concentrations. Methods Ketamine or saline was administered in a single-blinded crossover protocol to 10 psychiatrically healthy volunteers using computer-assisted...
Interest in the role of indolamines in the pathogenesis of psychoses has been renewed in recent years by the development of atypical antipsychotic drugs such as clozapine, olanzapine, and risperidone, which act on serotonin receptors. Discovery of the hallucinogenic compounds called methylated indolealkyalamines (MIAs) (e.g. N,N-dimethylserotonin, or bufotenin, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or...
The synthesis and spectral properties of new radioiodinated indolealkylamines like 2-[131I]-iodo-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 2-[131I]-iodo-N-methyltryptamine, 2-[131I]-iodo-5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 2-[131I]-iodio-5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (2-[131I]-iodo-bufotenine), and 2-[131I]-iodo-tryptamine and the known 2-[131I]-iodo-N-acetly-5-methoxy-tryptamine (2-[131I]-iodo-melatonine) are...
The alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine, as well as 5-HT2 receptor antagonists, reportedly suppress 5-HT2 receptor-mediated head-twitch behavior. We investigated the effect of alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonists on the suppressive action of 5-HT2 receptor antagonists in mice pretreated with the noradrenaline toxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) or the 5-HT synthesis inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine...
The commentators on my paper raised several interesting is sues. Set and setting do influence drug effects, but they also influence near death experiences (NDEs). Some NDEs are very anxiety-generating, just like some ketamine experiences, though frightening NDEs have been ignored by most researchers. High frequency, compulsive ketamine use is rare. While dimethyltryptamine (DMT) may induce...
Stable transfection of the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y with the human 5-hydroxytryptamine2A (5-HT2A) or 5-HT2C receptor cDNA produced cell lines demonstrating ligand affinities that correlated closely with those for the corresponding endogenous receptors in human frontal cortex and choroid plexus, respectively. Stimulation of the recombinant receptors by 5-HT induced phosphoinositide...
Previous studies have shown that 2 h restraint stress induces deficits in open arm exploration of an elevated plus maze 24 h later. This effect was attenuated by a post-stress systemic injection of the 5-HT non-selective agonist, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT). To verify a possible involvement of hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors in this effect, rats were stereotaxically implanted with...