Gamma band alterations and REM-like traits underpin the acute effect of the atypical psychedelic ibogaine

Summary

Ibogaine, a psychedelic alkaloid known for its antiaddictive properties, induces a unique waking state characterized by abnormal motor behavior and altered sleep patterns. In rats, ibogaine administration leads to increased gamma oscillations that are more powerful but less coherent and complex compared to control levels. This state exhibits traits similar to REM sleep, providing biological evidence linking the psychedelic experience with aspects of REM sleep and supporting the idea that ibogaine may facilitate dream-like experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Ibogaine is a psychedelic alkaloid that has attracted scientific interest because of its important antiaddictive properties evidenced in observational studies in humans, and in models for substance-use-disorders in rodents. Its subjective effect has been described as intense vivid dream-like experiences occurring while awake; hence, ibogaine is often referred to as an oneirogenic psychedelic. While this unique dream-like profile has been hypothesized to aid the antiaddictive effects in the past, the electrophysiological signatures of the ibogaine psychedelic state remain unknown. In our previous work, we showed in rats that ibogaine administration promotes a waking state with abnormal motor behavior, accompanied by a decrease in NREM and REM sleep. Here, we performed an in-depth analysis of the intracranial electroencephalogram during “ibogaine wakefulness”. Ibogaine induced gamma oscillations with larger power than control levels but less coherent and less complex; i.e., this state shows clear REM sleep traits within the gamma frequency band. Thus, our results provide novel biological evidence for the association between the psychedelic state and REM sleep, and an empirical basis for the oneirogenic conjecture of ibogaine.

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