Neuropsychobiology
January 1, 2004
Jordi Riba, P. Anderer, F Jané et al.
131 citations
Ayahuasca, a South American psychotropic plant tea, combines monoamine oxidase-inhibiting β-carboline alkaloids with the psychedelic agent DMT. In a clinical study with 18 volunteers, freeze-dried ayahuasca (0.85 mg DMT/kg body weight) produced dose-dependent changes in spontaneous brain electrical activity, measured via electroencephalography and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Compared to placebo, ayahuasca decreased power density in alpha-2, delta, theta, and beta-1 frequency bands 60 and 90 minutes after dosing. Power decreases in delta, alpha-2, and beta-1 bands occurred predominantly over the temporo-parieto-occipital junction, while theta power reduced in temporomedial and frontomedial regions. Subjective effects increased across all six scales of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale. The findings suggest involvement of unimodal and heteromodal association cortex and limbic structures in ayahuasca's psychological effects.
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
June 1, 2002
Jordi Riba, P. Anderer, Adelaida Morte et al.
126 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive tea from South America, produces measurable changes in brain electrical activity that parallel its subjective psychedelic and stimulant effects. In a double-blind crossover trial, 18 volunteers received low and high doses of freeze-dried ayahuasca. Electroencephalography recordings from baseline to eight hours showed dose-dependent decreases in absolute power across all frequency bands, especially theta, and decreases in relative delta and theta power with increases in beta power. Effects began within 15–30 minutes, peaked between 45 and 120 minutes, and returned to baseline by four to six hours. The pattern resembles that of other serotonergic psychedelics and supports the role of 5-HT2 and dopamine D2 receptor activation.
Acta Neurologica Scandinavica
January 30, 2015
Brigitte Holzinger, Gerhard Klösch, B. Saletu
59 citations
Adding lucid dreaming training to Gestalt therapy reduces nightmare frequency more quickly and to a greater extent than Gestalt therapy alone. Thirty-two people who had nightmares at least twice a week were randomly assigned to ten weeks of either Gestalt therapy alone or Gestalt therapy plus lucid dreaming instruction. Both groups reported significantly fewer nightmares after treatment and at a three-month follow-up. Only the group receiving Gestalt therapy alone showed a significant drop in dream recall frequency. Sleep quality improved significantly for both groups at follow-up, but only the lucid dreaming group showed significant improvement immediately after therapy ended.