Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2019
Ilana Berlowitz, Heinrich Walt, Christian Ghasarian et al.
70 citations
An integrative treatment program combining Amazonian medicine with psychotherapy significantly reduced substance use disorder symptoms in male patients. Among 36 participants who completed the program, addiction severity for drug and alcohol use, psychiatric status, social and familial relationships, emotional distress, and substance craving all decreased substantially. Quality of life also increased markedly. Nearly all participants were dependent on multiple substances, primarily cannabis, alcohol, and cocaine-related drugs. These preliminary results suggest the approach may offer new therapeutic options for substance use disorders.
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
December 16, 2017
Ilana Berlowitz, Christian Ghasarian, Heinrich Walt et al.
39 citations
Experts at an addiction treatment center in the Peruvian Amazon described substance use disorders using concepts similar to biopsychosocial models, but their therapeutic methods differed markedly from Western approaches. The main treatment methods involved dietary retreats, healing ceremonies, and purging rituals. Experts emphasized that the integral application of these Amazonian methods, along with their traditional implementation according to prescribed ritual protocols, is crucial for efficacy and safety. The authors suggest further scientific attention to these therapies, including clinical studies, to expand cross-cultural understanding of substance use disorders and potentially enhance treatment options.
Journal of ethnopharmacology
March 25, 2022
Ilana Berlowitz, David M O'Shaughnessy, Michael Heinrich et al.
26 citations
The Peruvian-Amazonian dieta is a retreat-like intervention involving lengthy social, behavioral, and alimentary restrictions while ingesting specially prepared plant substances, many of which are psychoactive. Based on interviews with 16 healers from Ucayali, San Martín, and Loreto provinces, the method is described as transformative, with multifaceted applications for treatment, prevention, and training. Benefits are attributed to teacher plants, dietary conditions, and the healer's skill. A detailed risk assessment revealed sophisticated safety measures. The dieta is a central therapeutic concept and a unique method for using psychoactive plants, warranting inclusion in current psychedelic research.
Frontiers in pharmacology
January 1, 2023
Klemens Egger, Frederik Gudmundsen, Naja Støckel Jessen et al.
17 citations
Co-administration of harmine with DMT in rats increased brain DMT levels by inhibiting its metabolism to indole-3-acetic acid, yet no significant occupancy of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors by DMT was detected, even at brain DMT concentrations up to 11.3 µM. Low doses of DMT and/or harmine did not significantly alter brain glucose metabolism as measured by [18F]FDG-PET. These preliminary findings suggest that the role of MAO-A inhibition in potentiating DMT's psychedelic effects may be more complex than previously assumed, and further dose-response studies are needed.
Plants
January 11, 2023
Ilana Berlowitz, Ernesto García Torres, Caroline Maake et al.
14 citations
In the Peruvian Amazon, Nicotiana rustica (mapacho) is traditionally ingested as a liquid medicine for mental health treatment, contrasting with harmful global tobacco use. A 37-year-old woman with mood, anxiety, attention deficit, and a chronic somatic condition participated in a weeklong retreat led by a traditional healer, involving ritual tobacco ingestion. Experience-sampling during treatment and symptom assessments before and after indicated clinically relevant improvements in well-being. This case study documents the therapeutic process and suggests potential benefits of traditional tobacco use, aligning with renewed scientific interest in psychoactive plants for therapy.
PLOS global public health
January 1, 2025
Ilana Berlowitz, Maria Amalia Pesantes, Cynthia Cárdenas Palacios et al.
6 citations
Indigenous-Amazonian medicine is an intricate medical system built on a sophisticated understanding of health, illness, and treatment. Traditional healers describe multifactorial causes of illness, complex interactions between material and spiritual aspects of body and nature, and treatments that often involve carefully designed applications of 'teacher plants'. Healers view traditional and biomedical systems as complementary, but identify lack of recognition as a primary barrier to collaboration. Preconceptions, stigma, and insufficient research impede countries from meeting Indigenous health needs and perpetuate inequalities. The findings highlight Amazonian healers' unique expertise with psychoactive plants, offering lessons for the revival of psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education
December 1, 2024
Ilana Berlowitz, Ernesto García Torres, Juan Celidonio Ruiz Macedo et al.
3 citations
Indigenous healers in the Peruvian Amazon use tobacco therapeutically, but this practice has been largely ignored by clinical research. A pilot field study assessed 27 patients before and after a weeklong treatment by a traditional healer specialized in tobacco. Validated self-report scales showed significant reductions in anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and general symptom indicators. Patients reported initial physical discomfort followed by psychologically or spiritually significant insights. The findings suggest a sophisticated therapeutic approach based on Indigenous knowledge that warrants further investigation, contributing to research on therapeutic uses of psychoactive plants.
Research Square
July 27, 2025
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena Aicher et al.
1 citation
In healthy volunteers, acute administration of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) combined with harmine produces global increases in brain glucose metabolism, as measured by [¹⁸F]FDG-PET. This suggests that the compound combination broadly energizes brain activity rather than acting on isolated regions. The findings indicate a neurobiological basis for the altered states of consciousness and mood enhancement reported with these psychoactive compounds, supporting further investigation into their therapeutic potential.
Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
June 1, 2026
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena D Aicher et al.
A psychedelic dose of DMT combined with harmine (mimicking ayahuasca) globally increased cerebral glucose metabolism by 12.5% in 14 healthy males, as measured by FDG-PET scans during peak drug effects. Widespread cortical increases appeared in higher-order brain networks. Global glucose metabolism correlated positively with harmine plasma levels but not with DMT levels or subjective intensity. This recapitulates a classic finding for psilocybin, suggesting a potential metabolic signature of the psychedelic state.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
May 11, 2026
Kush V. Bhatt, Adam W. Hanley, Chantal Martin-Soelch et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions reduce chronic pain, and a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials (480 patients on long-term opioid therapy) suggests that nondual awareness—a state of attenuated self-other distinction—partly explains this effect. Participants in an 8-week mindfulness program (MORE) showed significantly lower pain severity and interference than a supportive therapy control group, along with greater increases in nondual awareness. Path analyses indicated that gains in nondual awareness mediated the reductions in pain severity and interference, and nondual awareness was a stronger mediator than the mindfulness facet of nonreactivity. The findings link mindfulness-induced nondual awareness to chronic pain relief, and future work should explore neurobiological mechanisms and other interventions that foster nondual awareness.
Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich)
January 1, 2026
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena D. Aicher et al.
A psychedelic dose of DMT combined with harmine, mimicking ayahuasca, globally increased cerebral glucose metabolism by 12.5% in 14 healthy males, as measured by PET scans during peak drug effects. This increase was widespread across the cortex, particularly in higher-order brain networks, and positively correlated with harmine plasma levels but not with DMT levels or subjective intensity. The finding recapitulates a classic effect seen with psilocybin, suggesting a potential metabolic signature of the psychedelic state.
Cortica
December 15, 2025
Solène Maeder, Cherine Fahim, Chantal Martin-Soelch
Both mindfulness meditation-based interventions and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies reduce PTSD symptoms in adults with moderate effect sizes. Mindfulness interventions showed a standardized mean difference of 0.45, while psychedelic therapies showed 0.54. MDMA-assisted therapy produced slightly stronger outcomes than ketamine. Psychedelic studies had tighter confidence intervals and lower risk of bias than mindfulness trials. Psychedelic therapies may yield a marginally larger effect, but mindfulness interventions are easier to disseminate. Future research should examine long-term efficacy, adverse events, and diverse populations, and investigate altered states of consciousness as a shared therapeutic mechanism.
Cortica
December 15, 2025
Gowtham Karim Rajadurai, Cherine Fahim, Sophie Nicole et al.
A systematic review of 13 studies on self-induced cognitive trance (SICT) and related states shows consistent increases in theta brainwave power and modulations of alpha/beta bands, along with reorganizations in default mode and fronto-parietal networks, accompanied by heightened absorption, vivid mental imagery, and reduced hypervigilance. Gamma band findings were less consistent. A proof-of-concept EEG recording with three expert practitioners using a portable 5-electrode headset confirmed marked theta increases in all participants, with a clear gamma rise in only one. Theta appears to be a robust marker of trance states, while gamma modulations are more idiosyncratic. Portable EEG feasibility opens avenues for self-regulation protocols complementing trauma-focused psychotherapy.
January 4, 2023
Klemens Egger, Frederik Gudmundsen, Naja Støckel Jessen et al.
preprint
Co-administration of harmine with N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in rats inhibited the formation of the DMT metabolite indole-3-acetic acid in the brain and increased cerebral availability of DMT, confirming harmine's role in making oral DMT bioavailable. However, no significant occupancy by DMT at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors was detected ex vivo, despite brain DMT concentrations reaching 11.3 µM at moderate doses. Low doses of DMT and/or harmine did not strongly influence brain glucose metabolism measured with [18F]FDG-PET. The results call for further experiments on dose-dependent effects of harmine/DMT on receptor occupancy and cerebral metabolism.