Psychopharmacology
August 13, 2018
Malin V. Uthaug, Kim van Oorsouw, Kim P. C. Kuypers et al.
213 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychotropic plant tea used ceremonially in South America, produces sub-acute and long-term improvements in affect and cognitive thinking style. In 57 ceremony attendees in the Netherlands and Colombia, ratings of depression and stress significantly decreased the day after the ceremony and these changes persisted for 4 weeks. Convergent thinking also improved post-ceremony and was maintained at 4 weeks. Satisfaction with life and several aspects of mindfulness increased the day after but were not significantly different from baseline at 4 weeks. Changes in affect, satisfaction with life, and mindfulness correlated with the degree of ego dissolution experienced during the ceremony, not with prior ayahuasca experience. These findings highlight ayahuasca's therapeutic potential for mental health disorders like depression.
Psychopharmacology
March 10, 2021
Malin V. Uthaug, Natasha L. Mason, Stefan W. Toennes et al.
116 citations
Ayahuasca, a plant mixture containing DMT and β-carboline alkaloids, has been linked to mental health improvements in naturalistic settings, but prior studies lacked placebo controls. In this observational study, 30 experienced participants at ayahuasca retreats in the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany were assessed before and after sessions; 14 consumed ayahuasca and 16 a placebo. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress reduced over time in both groups, independent of treatment. However, ayahuasca specifically increased implicit emotional empathy to negative stimuli. The findings indicate that mental health improvements can arise from both placebo effects and pharmacological actions of ayahuasca, highlighting the need for placebo-controlled designs.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
October 1, 2021
Maggie Kiraga, Natasha L. Mason, Malin V. Uthaug et al.
83 citations
A single ayahuasca ceremony is associated with lasting improvements in cognitive empathy, satisfaction with life, and the ability to take a non-judgmental stance toward oneself (decentering), while decreasing neuroticism and divergent thinking. In a naturalistic study of 43 ceremony attendees, 20 completed the morning-after assessment and 19 completed the one-week follow-up. Compared to baseline, cognitive empathy, satisfaction with life, and decentering increased at both one day and one week post-ceremony; implicit emotional empathy increased only at one week; and trait neuroticism decreased. Divergent thinking (fluency corrected for originality) decreased. The findings suggest ayahuasca may enhance well-being and social cognition, but clinical trials are needed to confirm therapeutic potential.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 15, 2022
Alexandre Augusto de Deus Pontual, Alexandre Augusto de Deus Pontual, Luís Fernando Tófoli et al.
27 citations
Setting characteristics—social context, comfort, infrastructure, and decoration—moderate the intensity of challenging experiences during ayahuasca ceremonies, explaining 41% of the variance in challenging experience ratings across three traditions (União do Vegetal, Santo Daime, and neo-shamanic groups). Mystical experiences were less strongly associated with setting, with leadership and comfort explaining only 14% of the variance. Social context was rated highest among União do Vegetal members. In neo-shamanic groups, infrastructure, comfort, and decoration correlated more consistently with mystical experiences than in the other traditions. Maximizing setting quality reduces the likelihood of challenging experiences and modestly supports mystical experiences.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
August 26, 2021
Kim van Oorsouw, Malin V. Uthaug, Natasha L. Mason et al.
16 citations
A single ayahuasca ceremony reduced self-reported stress, anxiety, and somatization, and increased non-judging awareness four weeks later in 73 ceremony attendants. Satisfaction with life and awareness improved the day after the ceremony but returned to baseline after four weeks. No reduction in depression was found, contrary to earlier work. The intensity of ego dissolution during the ceremony predicted sub-acute mental health improvements. Effects were similar for first-time and experienced users. The authors call for placebo-controlled trials to confirm ayahuasca's therapeutic potential.
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
March 24, 2022
Francisco Madrid-Gambín, Àlex Gomez‐gómez, Arnau Busquets-García et al.
14 citations
Consumption of ayahuasca increases N-acyl-ethanolamine endocannabinoids, decreases 2-acyl-glycerol endocannabinoids, and alters several large-neutral amino acids (LNAAs) in human plasma. Most LNAAs were inversely associated with nine of eleven subscales of the 5-Dimension Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, except tryptophan, which was positively associated. Several endocannabinoids and hexosylceramides were directly associated with ayahuasca alkaloids. Enrichment analysis confirmed dysregulation in pathways involved in serotonin and dopamine synthesis. A crosstalk between circulating LNAAs and subjective effects is suggested, independent of alkaloid concentrations, providing insights into the metabolic fingerprint and mechanism of action underlying ayahuasca experiences.
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
December 5, 2022
Arne Bohn, Michiel H. H. Kiggen, Malin V. Uthaug et al.
10 citations
San Pedro, a cactus containing mescaline and used for millennia, is now popular in European ceremonial retreats. In a study of 42 participants at such retreats in the Netherlands, questionnaires measured 11 dimensions of altered consciousness, ego-dissolution, mystical experiences, and challenging experiences. Results indicate San Pedro produces deviations from normal waking consciousness on all 11 subscales, moderate ego-dissolution, and a complete mystical experience in two-thirds of participants. Spiritual experiences are strongly expressed, while disembodiment, anxiety, impaired control, and transcendence of space are low; physical distress and grief can occur during challenging experiences. Network analysis revealed two separate networks of positive and negative altered states.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
October 5, 2023
Pablo Mallaroni, Lilian Kloft, Natasha L. Mason et al.
8 citations
Repeated ayahuasca use is associated with a spatially distributed pattern of brain structural changes: sensorimotor areas become more distinct from surrounding regions while transmodal areas become less distinct. These changes correlate with the expression of genes for 5-HT2A receptors and other targets of ayahuasca, as well as with genes for transcription factors and immediate early genes previously linked to psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity in animal studies. The findings suggest that molecular mechanisms of psychedelic action may scale up to large-scale brain organization in living humans, potentially helping to explain behavioral differences in experienced users.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
October 11, 2022
Pablo Mallaroni, Natasha L. Mason, Lilian Kloft et al.
4 citations
preprint
Brain functional connectomes are unique and reliable identifiers of individuals, but it was unknown whether these 'fingerprints' persist during altered states of consciousness. Ayahuasca, a serotonergic psychedelic, disrupts functional connectivity. In a within-subject study using 7T fMRI, 21 members of the Santo Daime church were scanned after collective ayahuasca intake. Connectome fingerprinting revealed a shared functional space and a spatiotemporal reallocation of key edges. Differences in higher-order functional connectivity motifs predicted perceptual drug effects, showing that individualized connectivity markers can trace a subject's functional connectome across altered states.
June 19, 2026
Jules Evans, Christian Jurlando, David Luke et al.
preprint
Belief in sorcery and supernatural harm is common among Western psychedelic users, with many reporting experiences they interpret as shamanic attack. In a survey of 895 adults involved in psychedelic culture, participants often downplayed indigenous sorcery frameworks in favor of psychological explanations, yet some left ceremonies convinced they had been harmed supernaturally. The study estimates the prevalence of such beliefs, examines how psychedelic experiences and cultural immersion shift these beliefs, and characterizes experiences interpreted as black magic. It also assesses whether fear of magical retaliation inhibits criticism of ceremonial leaders. Findings aim to inform harm reduction in ceremonial settings.