Ayahuasca for Addiction ? That's a Trip Ayahuasca has long been used to heal the spirit, so what about addiction? Adi Jaffe, Psychology Today Posted Dec 10, 2018 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-about-addiction/201812/ayahuasca-addiction-thats-trip Doctors have been prescribing drugs to treat substance addictions for decades. Most commonly known is the use of buprenorphine and naloxone (Suboxone) in opioid addiction which provides some opioid activation, helping with withdrawal and cravings, without the same “high” and many of the associated psychosocial effects of illicit drug use. But Suboxone isn’t the only one – methadone, modafinil, naltrexone, ketamine, and many more examples exist in which the use of a chemical has been prescribed to help [...]
Lire la suiteAyahuasca in Adolescence : A Neuropsychological Assessment Evelyn Doering-Silveira, Enrique Lopez, Charles S. Grob, Marlene Dobkin de Rios, Luisa K. Alonso, Cristiane Tacla,Itiro Shirakawa, Paulo H. Bertolucci, & Dartiu X. Da Silveira Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2005, 37, (2), 123-128. Abstract The purpose of the study was to evaluate neuropsychologically adolescents who use ayahuasca in a religious context. A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to adolescents who use ayahuasca. These subjects were compared to a matched control group of adolescents who did not use ayahuasca. The controls were matched with regards to sex, age, and education. The neuropsychological battery included tests of speeded [...]
Lire la suiteAyahuasca in Adolescence : A Preliminary Psychiatric Assessment Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira; Charles S. Grob; Marlene Dobkin de Rios; Enrique Lopez; Luisa K. Alonso; Cristiane Tacla & Evelyn Doering-Silveira Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2005, 37, (2), 129-133. www.neip.info Abstract Ayahuasca is believed to be harmless for those (including adolescents) drinking it within a religious setting. Nevertheless controlled studies on the mental/ psychiatric status of ritual hallucinogenic ayahuasca concoction consumers are still lacking. In this study, 40 adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 40 controls matched on sex, age, and educational background for psychiatric symptomatology. Screening scales for depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption patterns (abuse), [...]
Lire la suiteEffects of a Psychedelic, Tropical Tea, Ayahuasca, on the Electroencephalographic (EEG) Activity of the Human Brain during a Shamanistic Ritual Erik Hoffmann, Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, Yatra-W.M. da Silveira Barbosa MAPS Bulletin, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, USA, Spring 2001, pp 25-30 Abstract Eight channels of EEG from 12 volunteers participating in a workshop in Brazil were recorded under field conditions before and after a shamanistic ritual in which the psychoactive tea, ayahuasca, was consumed. Following three doses of the tea, the subjects showed strong and statistically significant increases of both EEG alpha (8-13Hz) and theta (4-8Hz) mean amplitudes compared to baseline while beta [...]
Lire la suiteAyahuasca, Psychedelic Studies and Health Sciences: The Politics of Knowledge and Inquiry into an Amazonian Plant Brew Kenneth W. Tupper, and Beatriz C. Labate Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 2014, 7, 71-80 Abstract : This article offers critical sociological and philosophical reflections on ayahuasca and other psychedelics as objects of research in medicine, health and human sciences. It situates 21st century scientific inquiry on ayahuasca in the broader context of how early modern European social trends and intellectual pursuits translated into new forms of empiricism and experimental philosophy, but later evolved into a form of dogmatism that convenienced the political suppression of academic inquiry into [...]
Lire la suiteThe Consumption of Psychoactive Plants During Religious Rituals : The Roots of Common Symbols and Figures in Religions and Myths H. Umit Sayin NeuroQuantology, June 2014, Volume 12, Issue 2, 276-296 Doi : 10.14704/nq.2014.12.2.753 ABSTRACT Psychoactive plants which contain hallucinogenic molecules that induce a form of altered states of consciousness (HASC) have been widely used during the religious rituals of many cultures throughout the centuries, while the consumption of these plants for spiritual and religious purposes is as old as human history. Some of those cultures were shaman and pagan subcultures; African native religions; Bwiti Cult; South American native religions; Amazon Cultures; Central American Cultures; [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelics as Medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation : Evaluating Treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca Michael Winkelman Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 2014, 7, 101-116 Abstract : Substances known as psychedelics, hallucinogens and entheogens have been employed in ethnomedical traditions for thousands of years, but after promising uses in the 1950’s and 1960’s they were largely prohibited in medical treatment and human research starting in the 1970’s as part of the fallout from the war on drugs. Nonetheless, there are a number of studies which suggest that these substances have potential applications in the treatment of addictions. While these substances are generally classified as [...]
Lire la suiteSwitch to mania after ayahuasca consumption in a man with bipolar disorder : a case report Alejandro G Szmulewicz, Marina P Valerio and Jose M Smith International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, 2015, 3, (4), 1-3. DOI 10.1186/s40345-014-0020-y Abstract Background : There is an increasing use of ayahuasca for recreational purposes. Furthermore, there is a growing evidence for the antidepressant properties of its components. However, there are no reports on the effects of this substance in the psychiatric setting. Harmaline, one of the main components of ayahuasca, is a selective and reversible MAO-A inhibitor and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Case report : We present the case of [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic drugs in the treatment of anxiety, depression and addiction Tor-Morten KVAM, Lowan H. STEWART, Ole A. ANDREASSEN Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening, 2018. Doi : 10.4045/tidsskr.17.1110 B A C K G R O U N D There is growing interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental disorders. The drugs are considered safe when administered within a clinical framework. Older studies performed prior to 1970 had methodological shortcomings, but studies in recent years have shown promising results regarding the use of psychedelic drugs in unipolar depression, depression in life-threatening illness, anxiety and addiction. The aim of this literature review is [...]
Lire la suiteThe Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca : Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization Ede Frecska, Petra Bokor and Michael Winkelman Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2016, Vol 7, Article 35, 1-17. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00035 Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive brew of two main components. Its active agents are b-carboline and tryptamine derivatives. As a sacrament, ayahuasca is still a central element of many healing ceremonies in the Amazon Basin and its ritual consumption has become common among the mestizo populations of South America. Ayahuasca use amongst the indigenous people of the Amazon is a form of traditional medicine and cultural psychiatry. During the last two decades, the [...]
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