Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
July 28, 2017
Robson Savoldi, Daniel Polari, Jaquelinne Pinheiro‐da‐silva et al.
38 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, contains the hallucinogen DMT and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. In adult zebrafish, low concentrations (0.1 ml/L) reduced anxiety-like bottom dwelling without affecting locomotion, while higher concentrations (1 and 3 ml/L) increased freezing and bottom dwelling, indicating anxiogenic effects. Swimming speed and distance traveled decreased with rising concentration. The findings suggest ayahuasca has dose-dependent, biphasic effects on anxiety and locomotion, with low doses potentially reducing anxiety and higher doses increasing it. Temporal behavioral analysis in zebrafish offers a sensitive method for studying ayahuasca's effects on the vertebrate brain.
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
April 13, 2023
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi, Rita Clara de Oliveira Sales
6 citations
Mystical and ego-dissolution experiences can be elicited by entheogens such as ayahuasca and jurema, both containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) but differing in rituals, symbolism, and origins. In a natural-environment study with 26 participants, ayahuasca sessions produced significantly higher scores for temporal quality, ineffability, and religious quality on the Hood Mysticism Scale compared to jurema sessions, while other facets of ego-dissolution showed no significant differences. Ego-dissolution was positively correlated with temporal and unifying qualities in ayahuasca sessions, and with religious, unifying, and inner subjectivity qualities in jurema sessions. Ethnographic observations and interviews indicate that setting plays a key role in these differences and the meaning of the experience.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
June 9, 2023
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi, José Arturo Costa Escobar et al.
2 citations
Mysticism significantly enhances well-being, with 75% of participants in a study reporting improved life satisfaction after engaging in mystical experiences. In a sample of 500 individuals, psychometric assessments utilized structural equation modeling to confirm the construct validity of these experiences. The interplay between philosophy and social psychology revealed that psychedelics, particularly alkaloids, can facilitate profound insights into the self—bridging the id, ego, and super-ego. This highlights the potential of mystical experiences as therapeutic tools within developmental psychology and theology.
November 24, 2022
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi
preprint
Mystical experiences and ego-dissolution during ayahuasca rituals predict improvements in self-consciousness. In a cross-sectional study of ayahuasca religious users, higher scores on the Hood Mysticism Scale were positively related to adaptive self-consciousness traits (private self, public self, self-reflection, rumination, reflection) and negatively related to maladaptive traits (social anxiety). The Ego-Dissolution Inventory positively predicted adaptive reflexive self-consciousness. Frequency of ayahuasca use positively predicted public self; longer religious involvement predicted greater insight and lower ego-dissolution. Common dose positively predicted private and reflexive self and negatively predicted social anxiety, but these dose effects were mediated by mystical experience. The ceremonial use of ayahuasca may benefit self-consciousness through mysticism.
LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
July 28, 2017
Robson Savoldi, Daniel Polari, Jaquelinne Pinheiro Da Silva et al.
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian infusion made from Banisteriopsis caapi stem and Psychotria viridis leaves, contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. In adult zebrafish exposed to five concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 3 ml/L, with 14 fish per group), swimming speed and distance traveled decreased with higher concentrations, while freezing and bottom dwelling increased at 1 and 3 ml/L. At 0.1 ml/L, bottom dwelling declined, suggesting reduced anxiety-like behavior. Low doses did not affect locomotion and appeared anxiolytic, whereas higher doses produced anxiogenic effects. Temporal behavioral analysis in zebrafish offers a sensitive method for studying ayahuasca-induced brain changes.