Ayahoasca: an experimental psychosis that mirrors the transmethylation hypothesis of schizophrenia.
Journal of ethnopharmacology April 1, 1999 A B Pomilio, A A Vitale, J Ciprian-Ollivier et al. 34 citations
Drinking Ayahuasca, a South American hallucinogenic beverage, produces an experimental psychosis that mirrors the pathologic transmethylation theory of schizophrenia. This theory proposes that reduced monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity leads to accumulation of methylated indolealkylamines like bufotenin, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT, which are strong hallucinogens. Ayahuasca is prepared by boiling plants containing beta-carbolines (potent MAO inhibitors) and DMT, mimicking the biochemical conditions hypothesized in psychoses. After healthy subjects consumed the beverage, urine samples contained the same hallucinogenic compounds found in acute psychotic unmedicated patients. The study also reports the beverage's chemical composition and plant material, along with psychometric and neuroendocrine parameters.