Ayahuasca https://greenmedinfo.com/category/keywords/Ayahuasca en Ayahuasca temporarily disrupts neural hierarchies allowing inner exploration and a new outlook on reality. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/ayahuasca-temporarily-disrupts-neural-hierarchies-allowing-inner-exploration-a n/a PMID:  Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2017 Apr 2. Epub 2017 Apr 2. PMID: 28401525 Abstract Title:  New World Tryptamine Hallucinogens and the Neuroscience of Ayahuasca. Abstract:  New World indigenous peoples are noted for their sophisticated use of psychedelic plants in shamanic and ethnomedical practices. The use of psychedelic plant preparations among New World tribes is far more prevalent than in the Old World. Yet, although these preparations are botanically diverse, almost all are chemically similar in that their active principles are tryptamine derivatives, either DMT or related constituents. Part 1 of this paper provides an ethnopharmacological overview of the major tryptamine-containing New World hallucinogens. Part 2 focuses on ayahuasca and its effects on the human brain. Using complementary neurophysiological and neuroimaging techniques, we have identified brain areas involved in the cognitive effects induced by this complex botanical preparation. Initial SPECT data showed that ayahuasca modulated activity in higher order association areas of the brain. Increased blood perfusion was observed mainly in anterior brain regions encompassing the frontomedial and anterior cingulate cortices of the frontal lobes, and in the medial regions of the temporal lobes. On the other hand, applying spectral analysis and source location techniques to cortical electrical signals, we found changes in neuronal activity that predominated in more posterior sensory-selective areas of the brain. Now, using functional connectivity analysis of brain oscillations we have been able to reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings. By measuring transfer entropy, a metric based on information theory, we have shown that ayahuasca temporarily modifies the ordinary flow of information within the brain. We propose a model in which ayahuasca reduces top-down constraints and facilitates bottom-up information transfer. By simultaneously enhancing endogenous cortical excitability and reducing higher-order cognitive control, ayahuasca temporarily disrupts neural hierarchies allowing inner exploration and a new outlook on reality. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/ayahuasca-temporarily-disrupts-neural-hierarchies-allowing-inner-exploration-a#comments Ayahuasca Ayahuasca Spiritual Experiences Review Fri, 16 Jun 2017 01:43:54 +0000 greenmedinfo 149238 at https://greenmedinfo.com Ayahuasca's efficacy in the treatment of addiction blends somatic, symbolic and collective dimensions. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/ayahuascas-efficacy-treatment-addiction-blends-somatic-symbolic-and-collective n/a PMID:  Int J Drug Policy. 2017 Apr 19 ;44:23-30. Epub 2017 Apr 19. PMID: 28432902 Abstract Title:  Ayahuasca&#039;s entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from &#039;addiction&#039;. Abstract:  BACKGROUND: A range of studies has demonstrated the efficacy of the psychoactive Amazonian brew ayahuasca in addressing substance addiction. These have revealed that physiological and psychological mechanisms are deeply enmeshed. This article focuses on how interactive ritual contexts support the healing effort. The study of psychedelic-assisted treatments for addiction has much to gain from ethnographic analyses of healing experiences within the particular ecologies of use and care, where these interventions are rendered efficacious. METHODS: This is an ethnographically grounded, qualitative analysis of addiction-recovery experiences within ayahuasca rituals. It draws on long-term fieldwork and participant observation in ayahuasca communities, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews of participants with histories of substance misuse. RESULTS: Ayahuasca&#039;s efficacy in the treatment of addiction blends somatic, symbolic and collective dimensions. The layering of these effects, and the direction given to them through ritual, circumscribes the experience and provides tools to render it meaningful. Prevailing modes of evaluation are ill suited to account for the particular material and semiotic efficacy of complex interventions such as ayahuasca healing for addiction. The article argues that practices of care characteristic of the ritual spaces in which ayahuasca is collectively consumed, play a key therapeutic role. CONCLUSION: The ritual use of ayahuasca stands in strong contrast to hegemonic understandings of addiction, paving new ground between the overstated difference between community and pharmacological interventions. The article concludes that fluid, adaptable forms of caregiving play a key role in the success of addiction recovery and that feeling part of a community has an important therapeutic potential. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/ayahuascas-efficacy-treatment-addiction-blends-somatic-symbolic-and-collective#comments Ayahuasca Drug Addiction Ayahuasca Drug Addiction Spiritual Beliefs Human Study Mon, 24 Apr 2017 16:19:32 +0000 greenmedinfo 146694 at https://greenmedinfo.com Small amounts of ayahuasca reduce anxiety-like behavior in zebrafish. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/small-amounts-ayahuasca-reduce-anxiety-behavior-zebrafish n/a PMID:  Front Behav Neurosci. 2017 ;11:139. Epub 2017 Jul 28. PMID: 28804451 Abstract Title:  Behavioral Changes Over Time Following Ayahuasca Exposure in Zebrafish. Abstract:  The combined infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi stem and Psychotria viridis leaves, known as ayahuasca, has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes. The infusion is rich in N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, with properties similar to those of serotonin. Despite substantial progress in the development of new drugs to treat anxiety and depression, current treatments have several limitations. Alternative drugs, such as ayahuasca, may shed light on these disorders. Here, we present time-course behavioral changes induced by ayahuasca in zebrafish, as first step toward establishing an ideal concentration for pre-clinical evaluations. We exposed adult zebrafish to five concentrations of the ayahuasca infusion: 0 (control), 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 3 ml/L (n = 14 each group), and behavior was recorded for 60 min. We evaluated swimming speed, distance traveled, freezing and bottom dwelling every min for 60 min. Swimming speed and distance traveled decreased with an increase in ayahuasca concentration while freezing increased with 1 and 3 ml/L. Bottom dwelling increased with 1 and 3 ml/L, but declined with 0.1 ml/L. Our data suggest that small amounts of ayahuasca do not affect locomotion and reduce anxiety-like behavior in zebrafish, while increased doses of the drug lead to crescent anxiogenic effects. We conclude that the temporal analysis of zebrafish behavior is a sensitive method for the study of ayahuasca-induced functional changes in the vertebrate brain. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/small-amounts-ayahuasca-reduce-anxiety-behavior-zebrafish#comments Anxiety Ayahuasca Anti-Anxiety Agents Anti-Anxiety Agents Anxiety Ayahuasca Animal Study Fri, 01 Sep 2017 17:37:29 +0000 greenmedinfo 152558 at https://greenmedinfo.com The findings suggest that B. caapi alone has a mild antiparkinsonian effect. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/findings-suggest-b-caapi-alone-has-mild-antiparkinsonian-effect n/a PMID:  Phytother Res. 2018 Jan 24. Epub 2018 Jan 24. PMID: 29368409 Abstract Title:  The effect of Banisteriopsis caapi (B. caapi) on the motor deficits in the MPTP-treated common marmoset model of Parkinson&#039;s disease. Abstract:  Banisteriopsis caapi (B. caapi) contains harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine, has monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity, and has reported antiparkinsonian activity in humans when imbibed as a tea; however, its effects are poorly documented. For this reason, motor function was assessed in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-treated common marmosets following administration of B. caapi extract (28.4-113.6 mg/kg; po), harmine (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg; sc), and selegiline (10 mg/kg; sc), alone or with a submaximal dose of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA; 4-7 mg/kg). L-DOPA reversed motor disability, increased locomotor activity, and induced moderate dyskinesia. B. caapi did not increase locomotor activity or induce dyskinesia but at 56.8 and 113.6 mg/kg improved motor disability. The L-DOPA response was unaltered by co-administration of B. caapi. Harmine (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) produced a mild improvement in motor disability without affecting locomotor activity or dyskinesia but had no effect on the L-DOPA-induced antiparkinsonian response. Selegiline (10 mg/kg) alone improved motor function to the same extent as L-DOPA, but with only mild dyskinesia, and did not alter the response to L-DOPA, although dyskinesia was reduced. The findings suggest that B. caapi alone has a mild antiparkinsonian effect but does not enhance the L-DOPA response or reduce dyskinesia. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/findings-suggest-b-caapi-alone-has-mild-antiparkinsonian-effect#comments Ayahuasca Parkinson's Disease Ayahuasca Parkinson's disease Animal Study Sat, 27 Jan 2018 03:05:18 +0000 greenmedinfo 158903 at https://greenmedinfo.com The Science of Ayahuasca https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/science-ayahuasca <div class="copyright">This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2019<br/><strong><a href="/greenmedinfocom-re-post-guidelines">Visit our Re-post guidelines</a></strong></div><p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="//cdn.greenmedinfo.com/sites/default/files/ckeditor/blank.justin/images/TheScienceofAyahuasca.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 315px;" title="The Science of Ayahuasca" /></p> <p><span style="font-size: 18px;"><b><i>A plant native to the Amazonian jungles has been used by the indigenous population for generations untold for physical, spiritual and emotional health. Now, the science is beginning to prove its efficacy</i></b></span></p> <p>If you're interested in alternative medicine and deep spiritual work, you've probably caught wind of a hard to pronounce, and very powerful purification rite called <strong><a href="/substance/ayahuasca" rel="dofollow" target="_blank" title="The Science of Ayahuasca"><em>Ayahuasca</em></a></strong>. This ancient A word is Quechua in origin and refers both to an Amazonian healing ceremony and also the sacred beverage that is drank during it.</p><p><a href="https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/science-ayahuasca" target="_blank">read more</a></p> https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/science-ayahuasca#comments Alcohol Addiction Alzheimer's Ayahuasca Cancers: All Depression Diabetes Drug Addiction Multiple Sclerosis N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Parkinson's Disease Cancer Detoxification Hallucinogens Health Guide: Addiction Health Guide: Food-Brain Connection Health Guide: Herbs and Traditional Knowledge Health Guides: Healing Foods Meditation Spiritual/Religious Practice Stress Addiction alzheimer's Anti-cancer Ayahuasca DMT mental health Natural Healing Spirit Science Spiritual Experiences Wed, 19 Oct 2016 18:28:47 +0000 nickpolizzi 136140 at https://greenmedinfo.com These results support the involvement of glutamate neurotransmission in the effects of psychedelics in humans. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/these-results-support-involvement-glutamate-neurotransmission-effects-psychede n/a PMID:  Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2017 May 19. Epub 2017 May 19. PMID: 28525587 Abstract Title:  Assessing the psychedelic&quot;after-glow&quot;in ayahuasca users: post-acute neurometabolic and functional connectivity changes are associated with enhanced mindfulness capacities. Abstract:  Background: Ayahuasca is a plant tea containing the psychedelic 5-HT2A agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and harmala monoamine-oxidase inhibitors. Acute administration leads to neurophysiological modifications in brain regions of the default mode network (DMN), purportedly through a glutamatergic mechanism. Post-acutely, ayahuasca potentiates mindfulness capacities in volunteers, and induces rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant patients. However, the mechanisms underlying these fast and maintained effects are poorly understood. Here we investigated in an open-label uncontrolled study in sixteen healthy volunteers ayahuasca-induced post-acute neurometabolic and connectivity modifications, and their association with mindfulness measures. Methods: Using 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and functional connectivity, we compared baseline and post-acute neurometabolites and seed-to-voxel connectivity in the posterior (PCC) and anterior (ACC) cingulate cortex after a single ayahuasca dose. Results: MRS showed post-acute reductions in Glx (glutamate+glutamine), creatine and NAA-NAAG (N-acetylaspartate+N-acetylaspartylglutamate) in the PCC. Connectivity was increased between the PCC and the ACC, and between the ACC and limbic structures in the right medial temporal lobe (MTL). Glx reductions correlated with increases in the&quot;Non-Judging&quot;subscale of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire. Increased ACC-MTL connectivity correlated with increased scores on the Self-Compassion questionnaire. Post-acute neural changes predicted sustained elevations in&quot;Non-Judging&quot;two months later. Conclusions: These results support the involvement of glutamate neurotransmission in the effects of psychedelics in humans. They further suggest that neurometabolic changes in the PCC, a key region within the DMN, and increased connectivity between the ACC and MTL structures involved in emotion and memory, potentially underlie the post-acute psychological effects of ayahuasca. https://greenmedinfo.com/article/these-results-support-involvement-glutamate-neurotransmission-effects-psychede#comments Ayahuasca Ayahuasca Human Study Fri, 16 Jun 2017 01:51:07 +0000 greenmedinfo 149239 at https://greenmedinfo.com