Psychopharmacology
March 7, 2022
Yasmim A. Serra, Thaísa Barros-Santos, Alexia Anjos-Santos et al.
28 citations
In mice undergoing alcohol abstinence, treatment with ayahuasca blocked the return of alcohol self-administration. The effects depended on activation of the 5-HT2A receptor. The findings suggest that ayahuasca and other 5-HT2A receptor agonists could serve as adjunctive pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder.
Psychopharmacology
July 16, 2020
Henrique Sousa Reis, Isa R. S. Rodrigues, Alexia Anjos-Santos et al.
21 citations
Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic beverage used in traditional Amazonian rituals, blocked the reinstatement of methylphenidate-induced conditioned place preference in mice, indicating reduced drug-seeking behavior. Both ayahuasca (100 mg/kg, orally) and methylphenidate (10 mg/kg, i.p.) separately induced conditioned place preference. However, methylphenidate altered Fos expression in several limbic brain regions associated with drug abuse, while ayahuasca had limited effects on Fos expression. Treatment with ayahuasca after conditioning with methylphenidate prevented reinstatement of the conditioned place preference and generally blocked the changes in Fos expression induced by methylphenidate conditioning or reexposure. These findings suggest ayahuasca restored normal brain function in areas linked to long-term drug wanting or seeking.
Frontiers in pharmacology
January 1, 2021
Gabrielle M Henriques, Alexia Anjos-Santos, Isa R S Rodrigues et al.
10 citations
Ibogaine, a psychedelic from the African plant Tabernanthe iboga, blocked the reinstatement of a conditioned place preference for ethanol in male mice, suggesting it may disrupt learned alcohol-seeking behaviors. Ethanol (1.8 g/kg) induced a conditioned place preference, but ibogaine (10 or 30 mg/kg) did not produce rewarding effects on its own. Repeated ibogaine treatment after ethanol conditioning prevented reinstatement of the preference both when mice received a priming ethanol injection and when they were re-exposed to the ethanol-paired compartment without the drug. These results indicate ibogaine could have therapeutic potential for alcohol use disorder at doses that lack rewarding effects.