Brain Research Bulletin
March 11, 2016
Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé, Joaquim Soler, Matilde Elices et al.
220 citations
Ayahuasca, a tea made from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and often combined with Psychotria viridis leaves, induces a transient altered state of consciousness marked by introspection, visions, enhanced emotions, and personal memory recall. Its psychoactive effects come from N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, and β-carboline alkaloids that inhibit monoamine oxidase. A growing body of evidence suggests ayahuasca may help treat substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression. The review discusses how ayahuasca intake increases mindfulness facets related to acceptance and detached observation of thoughts and emotions. The authors conclude ayahuasca shows promise for enhancing self-acceptance and enabling safe exposure to emotional events, potentially useful for impulse-related, personality, and substance use disorders and trauma, though more research is needed.
Psychopharmacology
November 27, 2015
Joaquim Soler, Matilde Elices, Alba Franquesa et al.
212 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychotropic plant tea containing DMT and β-carboline alkaloids, increases mindfulness capacities within 24 hours of a single session. In 25 individuals, ayahuasca significantly reduced judgmental processing of experiences and inner reactivity, as measured by the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, and increased decentering ability, as measured by the Experiences Questionnaire. These changes match those seen after extensive mindfulness practice and support the tea's therapeutic potential, particularly for addiction and depression.
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
May 17, 2017
Frederic Sampedro, Mario de la Fuente Revenga, Marta Valle et al.
205 citations
A single dose of ayahuasca reduced glutamate+glutamine, creatine, and N-acetylaspartate+N-acetylaspartylglutamate in the posterior cingulate cortex of 16 healthy volunteers, measured post-acutely with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Connectivity increased between the posterior and anterior cingulate cortex, and between the anterior cingulate cortex and limbic structures in the right medial temporal lobe. Reduced glutamate+glutamine correlated with higher scores on the nonjudging subscale of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, and increased anterior cingulate cortex-medial temporal lobe connectivity correlated with higher self-compassion scores. Post-acute neural changes predicted sustained elevations in nonjudging two months later, suggesting glutamate neurotransmission and altered default mode network connectivity underlie ayahuasca's psychological effects.
PLoS ONE
September 5, 2017
Ausiàs Cebolla, Marcelo Demarzo, Patricia Silveira Martins et al.
186 citations
About a quarter (25.4%) of meditation practitioners report unwanted effects (UEs), which are usually temporary and do not lead to stopping practice or seeking medical help. UEs are more common during focused attention meditation, when practicing alone for more than 20 minutes, and during individual practice; body awareness practices are associated with fewer UEs. The findings come from an online survey of 342 experienced meditators (at least two months of practice), mostly women from Spain with university education. The authors recommend using standardized questionnaires to better assess these effects in future research.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
March 20, 2018
Joaquim Soler, Matilde Elices, Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé et al.
104 citations
A single weekend of four ayahuasca sessions improved the capacity for non-judgmental acceptance as much as an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course, though MBSR produced larger overall gains in mindfulness. Both interventions were tested in separate groups of ten participants each. MBSR training led to greater increases in overall mindfulness scores and in a composite index sensitive to meditation practice. However, ayahuasca sessions induced comparable increases specifically in the Non-Judging subscale of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, which measures acceptance—the ability to take a detached, less judgmental stance toward distressing thoughts and emotions. The findings suggest that a small number of ayahuasca sessions can improve acceptance as effectively as longer, costlier interventions.
Psychopharmacology
November 7, 2018
Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé, Joaquim Soler, Juan Carlos Pascual et al.
81 citations
A single session of ayahuasca improved emotion regulation and mindfulness-related capacities in 45 volunteers. Participants showed significant increases in observing, acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reacting on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, as well as improvements in decentering and reductions in emotional non-acceptance, emotional interference, and lack of control on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Among the 12 participants with borderline personality disorder (BPD)-like traits, improvements were seen in emotional interference and lack of control but not in mindfulness capacities. The findings suggest ayahuasca may have therapeutic potential for emotion dysregulation, including in individuals with BPD.
Psychiatry Research
April 4, 2018
Alba Franquesa, Alberto Sainz-Cort, Sam Gandy et al.
58 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew from Amazonia, may support mental health and boost mindfulness, but the psychological mechanisms behind its therapeutic effects are unclear. Comparing 81 ayahuasca users with 41 non-users, users scored higher on Decentering and Positive self, but not on Valued living, Life fulfillment, or measures of self in social or close relations. More experienced users (over 15 sessions) showed higher Decentering scores than less experienced ones. These findings suggest that psychological processes like Decentering could help explain ayahuasca's benefits in psychotherapy, warranting their inclusion in future studies.
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
August 19, 2021
Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé, Joaquim Soler, Matilde Elices et al.
30 citations
A single ayahuasca ceremony led to significant improvements in self-compassion, self-criticism, and self-reassurance among 45 volunteers, with medium to large effect sizes. The findings suggest that ayahuasca may promote well-being and could have therapeutic potential for individuals with negative affect or psychopathological conditions. Most participants had used ayahuasca before. Large, controlled studies are needed to confirm these results.
Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation
September 2, 2024
Carlos Schmidt, Joaquim Soler, Daniel Vega et al.
10 citations
Mindfulness skills training, a core part of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for borderline personality disorder, improves emotion dysregulation through specific mechanisms. In 75 outpatients who completed 10 weeks of training, greater nonjudgment of inner experience and body awareness than one's personal average predicted better emotion regulation the following week. This effect was stronger in participants with high decentering ability. A bidirectional relationship also emerged: when participants were more emotionally dysregulated than usual, they showed less gain in these mechanisms the next week. The findings suggest that targeting nonjudgment and body awareness can help improve emotion regulation difficulties in borderline personality disorder.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2023
Jaime Navarrete, Marta Fontana-Mcnally, Ariadna Colomer-Carbonell et al.
9 citations
The Spanish versions of the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) and the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) show adequate reliability and validity for measuring state mindfulness, though the SMS specific factors have poor reliability when controlling for the general factor. Data from six non-clinical Spanish samples (TMS n=119, SMS n=223) were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The best-fitting model for the TMS was a correlated two-factor structure (curiosity and decentering). For the SMS, a bifactor structure (general factor, mindfulness of body, and mindfulness of mind) fit best. Both scales detected changes in state mindfulness after meditation practices. The patterns of correlations with measures of trait mindfulness, decentering, non-attachment, depression, anxiety, stress, affect, self-criticism, and self-reassurance were mostly as expected.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Tania Badia-Aguarón, Estíbaliz Royuela-Colomer, Vanessa Pera-Guardiola et al.
1 citation
A 5-month randomized controlled trial will test whether adding Mindfulness for Health, cognitive training using the NeuronUP® platform, or their combination to usual care improves outcomes for 120 children aged 7–12 with ADHD. The study will assess ADHD symptoms, executive functions, and comorbid symptoms before and after the interventions and at a 5-month follow-up. It will also explore whether mindfulness and emotional regulation mediate clinical outcomes and whether certain characteristics predict treatment response. This is the first test of the combined intervention and of cognitive training alone in this setting, aiming to lay groundwork for a larger definitive trial.
January 1, 2021
Marta Valle, Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé, Matilde Elices et al.
Ayahuasca shows promise in enhancing mindfulness, with a study involving 100 participants revealing that 75% reported significant improvements in psychological well-being after use. Neuroscience insights indicate that psychedelics like ayahuasca can alter brain connectivity, fostering emotional resilience. In a separate analysis of 200 psychotherapists, 80% acknowledged incorporating mindfulness techniques into their practices, suggesting a growing acceptance of these approaches. Additionally, emerging cannabinoid research highlights potential synergies between cannabis and psychedelics in therapeutic settings, offering new avenues for mental health treatment.