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.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
July 1, 2012
Ede Frecska, Csaba E. Móré, András Vargha et al.
88 citations
Visual creativity, measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, increased after a series of ayahuasca ceremonies once acute effects had subsided. Forty ayahuasca ritual participants in Brazil showed significantly more highly original solutions and phosphenic (entoptic) responses compared to twenty-one controls tested two weeks apart. However, ayahuasca participants already produced more phosphenic solutions at baseline, likely because they had more recent psychedelic experiences. The naturalistic study suggests that ritual ayahuasca use may enhance certain visual creativity measures and increase entoptic activity after the acute psychoactive effects recede.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
June 1, 2005
David E. Stuckey, Robert F. Lawson, Luís Eduardo Luna
43 citations
In two experienced ayahuasca users studied in a Brazilian jungle, EEG recordings showed increased global brain coherence in the 36-44 Hz and 50-64 Hz frequency bands during visual imagery compared to eyes-closed baselines. This widespread cortical hyper-coherence may relate to the intense synesthesia typical of ayahuasca experiences. Other findings included increased modal EEG alpha frequency and global power decreases across most frequency bands, consistent with prior psychedelic EEG literature. The exploratory case series suggests that analyzing single Hz bins rather than standard wide bands can be useful. The authors propose that increased global gamma coherence during peak psychedelic experiences may inform binding theory and invites comparison with advanced meditative states.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
September 27, 2022
Christine Hauskeller, Taline Artinian, Amelia Fiske et al.
26 citations
The study of psychedelics is troubled by dualisms—subject and object, self and other, culture and nature, synthetic and natural, colonizer and indigenous, literal and metaphorical—that appear in both colonial and decolonial thought. Drawing on feminist and decolonial theory and a discussion of metaphor, the authors argue that research often lacks critical engagement with these binaries. A narrow view of coloniality limits critiques of contemporary capitalism, including the progressive colonization of the life-world and commodification of psychedelic experiences. Fears that decolonization is becoming merely a 'metaphor' implicitly reinforce the conceptual power dynamics of colonization. As a critical metaphor, decolonization can help reassess problematic distinctions shaping thinking, material realities, and experiences.