Platelet serotonin uptake sites increased in drinkers ofayahuasca
Psychopharmacology November 1, 1994 J. C. Callaway, Mauno M. Airaksinen, Dennis J. Mckenna et al. 79 citations
Healthy male drinkers of ayahuasca, a psychoactive Amazonian sacrament, showed an increased number of binding sites for [3H]citalopram on platelet serotonin transporters compared to healthy male controls, while the dissociation constant remained unchanged. If these platelet measures reflect neuronal serotonin uptake activity, the findings suggest either a decreased concentration of extracellular serotonin or a compensatory response to increased serotonin production and release. The authors caution that such changes in serotonin synaptic activity should not be misinterpreted as signs of developing neurological or psychiatric illness.