A Single Dose Of Ayahuasca Modulates Salivary Cortisol In Treatment-Resistant Depression
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) January 31, 2018 Ana Cecília de Menezes Galvão, Raíssa Nóbrega de Almeida, Erick Allan Dos Santos Silva et al. 5 citations preprint
In treatment-resistant depression, a single dose of ayahuasca normalizes the blunted awakening salivary cortisol response that is characteristic of the disorder. Patients with major depression showed hypocortisolemia and a diminished cortisol awakening response compared with healthy controls at baseline. During the dosing session, both patients and controls who ingested ayahuasca had a large increase in salivary cortisol relative to placebo groups. Forty-eight hours after ayahuasca, the awakening cortisol response in treated patients became similar to that of controls, an effect not seen with placebo. No changes in plasma cortisol occurred 48 hours after either ayahuasca or placebo. The modulation of salivary cortisol may contribute to ayahuasca's rapid antidepressant effects.