Brazilian Psychedelic Science and the Frontiers of Psychiatry
Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria January 1, 2024 Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Tiago Arruda Sanchez, Sidarta Ribeiro 1 citation
Psychedelic substances have been used by humanity for millennia to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness, characterized by heightened sensory, emotional, and cognitive experiences, including augmented visual imagery, altered perception of space-time and reality, and profound mystical insights. Many indigenous populations worldwide developed these substances as vital components of healing. In the Amazon, shamans ancestrally used Ayahuasca, a drink made from two plants, to promote physical and psychological healing. The Navajo in North America retain the ancestral use of the peyote cactus as sacred medicine, while the Mazatecs of Mexico used psilocybin-containing mushrooms in their healing rituals.