Interactive Effects of Ayahuasca and Cannabidiol in Social Cognition in Healthy Volunteers
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology – June 19, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Ayahuasca and cannabidiol (CBD) were well tolerated in a trial involving 17 healthy volunteers, with both substances producing mainly nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort. Participants received either a placebo or 600 mg of CBD before consuming ayahuasca. While significant reductions in anxiety and cognitive deterioration occurred in both groups, no differences emerged between them. Reaction times improved across the board, but there was no evidence that CBD moderated ayahuasca's effects on emotional recognition. These findings suggest potential for clinical applications in anxiety disorders.
Abstract
Abstract Background Serotonergic hallucinogens and cannabinoids may alter the recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE). Cannabidiol (CBD) attenuates the psychoactive effects of the cannabinoid-1 agonist tetrahydrocannabinol. Ayahuasca is a dimethyltryptamine-containing hallucinogenic decoction. It is unknown if CBD may moderate and attenuate the effects of ayahuasca on REFE. Procedures Seventeen healthy volunteers participated in a 1-week preliminary parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial for 18 months. Volunteers received a placebo or 600 mg of oral CBD followed by oral ayahuasca (1 mL/kg) 90 minutes later. Primary outcomes included REFE and empathy tasks (coprimary outcome). Tasks were performed at baseline and 6.5 hours, 1 and 7 days after the interventions. Secondary outcome measures included subjective effects, tolerability, and biochemical assessments. Results Significant reductions (all P values <0.05) only in reaction times were observed in the 2 tasks in both groups, without between-group differences. Furthermore, significant reductions in anxiety, sedation, cognitive deterioration, and discomfort were observed in both groups, without between-group differences. Ayahuasca, with or without CBD, was well tolerated, producing mainly nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort. No clinically significant effects were observed on cardiovascular measurements and liver enzymes. Conclusions There was no evidence of interactive effects between ayahuasca and CBD. The safety of separate and concomitant drug intake suggests that both drugs could be applied to clinical populations with anxiety disorders and in further trials with larger samples to confirm findings.