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ICPR 2012 draws attention to psychedelic research

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On October 6 & 7 OPEN’s second international conference took place in Amsterdam: the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research. In a sold out Mozeskerk over 400 researchers, students, therapists and scholars gathered to listen and discuss the latest psychedelic research. From brain imaging studies on psilocybin, philosophical discussions on the meaning of altered states of consciousness to a debate on the place of MDMA in psychotherapy, ICPR set the standard for future events.

Research into psychedelics is slowly being taken seriously in the Netherlands. Dutch science program Labyrint recorded interviews and shot the conference for an episode on psychedelic research. Articles on the conference in Dutch national newspapers Volkskrant (6 Oct. ’12) and Parool (13 Oct. ’12) can be clicked and read here (only in Dutch). Photos of the conference can be found here and videos of the conference are being edited and will be put on our website soon.

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Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis

/ Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Psychotic Disorders, Publications / / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic and a candidate drug model of psychosis. This study measured the effects of psilocybin on resting-state network and thalamocortical functional connectivity (FC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy volunteers received intravenous infusions of psilocybin and placebo in 2 task-free resting-state scans. Primary analyses focused on changes in FC between the default-mode- (DMN) and task-positive network (TPN). Spontaneous activity in the DMN is orthogonal to spontaneous activity in the TPN, and it is well known that these networks support very differ -ent functions (ie, the DMN supports introspection, whereas the TPN supports externally focused attention). Here, inde -pendent components and seed-based FC analyses revealed increased DMN-TPN FC and so decreased DMN-TPN orthogonality after psilocybin. Increased DMN-TPN FC has been found in psychosis and meditatory states, which share some phenomenological similarities with the psy -chedelic state. Increased DMN-TPN FC has also been observed in sedation, as has decreased thalamocortical FC, but here we found preserved thalamocortical FC after psi -locybin. Thus, we propose that thalamocortical FC may be related to arousal, whereas DMN-TPN FC is related to the separateness of internally and externally focused states. We suggest that this orthogonality is compromised in early psychosis, explaining similarities between its phenomenol -ogy and that of the psychedelic state and supporting the utility of psilocybin as a model of early psychosis.

Carhart-Harris, R. L., Leech, R., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T. M.,  Stone, J. M.,  Evans, J., …. Nutt, D. J. (2012). Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 39(6), 1343-1351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbs117
Link to full text

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Wouter Hanegraaff – Entheogens and Contemporary Religion

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This lecture was first given under the title “Entheogenic Esotericism” at the First International Conference on Contemporary Esotericism, Stockholm University 2012 (link to video). The text has been published in Egil Asprem & Kennet Granholm (eds.), Contemporary Esotericism, Equinox 2013, 392-409.

ABSTRACT
Contemporary esotericism is replete with references to impressive “mystical” or visionary experiences, which are typically credited with having radically changed people’s lives by bringing them into contact with a “spiritual” dimension of reality. Given the widely acknowledged fact that the contemporary neo-esoteric revival has its historical roots in the 1960s, known for its widespread experimentation with psychoactive substances such as LSD, it is remarkable how rarely specialists in this domain (including the speaker himself, in his 1996 monograph on the New Age) have seen this dimension as relevant at all.

In my lecture, I will argue that widespread experimentation with psychoactive or “entheogenic” substances is a significant factor in contemporary esotericism and should be given more attention by scholars. With some notable exceptions, such as Terence McKenna, Daniel Pinchbeck, or Alex Grey, esoteric authors and spokes(wo)men have tended to play down or deny this dimension, especially after the beginning of the “war on drugs” around 1970, and on the whole, scholars have been somewhat naïve in taking such emic denials at face value. Especially since “higher knowledge” or “gnosis” is widely seen as an important aspect of Western esotericism, the widespread claim that it may be attained or facilitated by psychoactive substances must be taken seriously in the study of contemporary esotericism.

About Wouter Hanegraaff:

Wouter J. Hanegraaff is Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, President of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE; see esswe.org), and a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought (Leiden 1996/ Albany 1998); Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447-1500): The Hermetic Writings and Related Documents (Tempe 2005; with Ruud M. Bouthoorn); Swedenborg, Oetinger, Kant: Three Perspectives on the Secrets of Heaven (West Chester 2007), and numerous articles in academic journals and collective volumes. His forthcoming monograph Esotericism and the Academy will appear with Cambridge University Press in 2012.

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Matthew Johnson – A Systematic Research Program Examining Psilocybin, Mystical Experience, Personality Change, Adverse Effects and Therapeutic Applications

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This talk will describe several lines of research with psilocybin conducted by our laboratory at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, USA). Completed study results to be presented include: the effects of different psilocybin doses on mystical experience and challenging effects (“bad trips”); the effects of psilocybin in altering personality (increased openness); and the effects of psilocybin on headache. Ongoing studies will also be described, including a study examining psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression, a study examining psilocybin to facilitate the adoption of a meditation practice, and a study examining psilocybin in addiction (tobacco smoking) treatment.

BIOGRAPHY

Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, US. He received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Vermont, and completed a fellowship in behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins.

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Robin Carhart-Harris – Neuroimaging Studies with Psilocybin and MDMA

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This talk will describe recently completed fMRI and MEG research with psilocybin and MDMA. I will describe the methods and main results of these studies and discuss their potential implications, both for understanding how the drugs work in the brain and how their effects may be relevant to psychiatry.

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Studie: ayahuasca niet schadelijk voor gezondheid

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Een onderzoek naar de psychiatrische en neuropsychologische effecten van ayahuasca, uitgevoerd door de ‘Human Experimental Neuropsychopharmacology’ onderzoeksgroep van het Sant Pau ziekenhuis in Barcelona, in samenwerking met IDEAA en onderzoeksteams uit Spanje en Brazilië, heeft geen bewijs gevonden voor nadelige effecten op de geestelijke gezondheid van mensen die al 15 jaar lang minimaal twee maal per maand ayahuasca drinken.

Het Spaans / Braziliaanse onderzoeksteam, geleid door psycholoog José Carlos Bouso, onderzocht verschillende domeinen van de geestelijke gezondheid in een groep van 127 lange termijn ayahuasca drinkers in een religieuze context. Deze deelnemers werden vergeleken met een controlegroep bestaande uit 115 niet-drinkers. Om de betrouwbaarheid van het onderzoek te bevestigen, zijn de test een jaar later herhaald. Er werden geen persoonlijkheidsstoornissen gevonden onder de ayahuasca-drinkers en – opmerkelijk genoeg had deze groep zelfs lagere scores op psychopathologisch gebied en scoorden ze beter op sommige cognitieve taken dan de controlegroep. Deze resultaten  zijn consistent met eerdere onderzoeken bij kleinere groepen ayahuasca-drinkers. Dit is de eerste studie die een grote groep onderzoekt en de resultaten heeft weten te repliceren. De auteurs geven aan dat de onderzochte groep bestaat uit mensen die al lange tijd ayahuasca drinken, wat duidelijk laat zien dat ze goed kunnen omgaan met de effecten van ayahuasca. Hun aanbeveling is dan ook om toekomstig onderzoek te richten op beginnende gebruikers die stoppen met het gebruik van ayahuasca vanwege psychologische problemen.

José Carlos Bouso is lid van het International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS) en geeft een lezing tijdens het door Stichting OPEN georganiseerde Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research, waar hij bovenstaand onderzoek zal bespreken.

Het gepubliceerde artikel (zowel het abstract als de volledige tekst) is hier te vinden.

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Study: no adverse effects in long-time ayahuasca users

/ Ayahuasca, Publications /

An investigation into the psychiatric and neuropsychological status of long-term ayahuasca users – conducted by the Human Experimental Neuropsychopharmacology group of Hospital Sant Pau (Barcelona), in cooperation with IDEAA and research centers in Brazil and Spain – found no evidence of adverse psychiatric or neuropsychological effects. The team performed a longitudinal study of ayahuasca users who had been drinking for at least 15 years, at least twice a month.

The Spanish and Brazilian research team, headed by psychologist José Carlos Bouso, evaluated several domains of mental health in 127 long-time ayahuasca users in religious contexts. They compared these participants with 115 non-users. To confirm the reliability of the results, they repeated the tests one year later. Interestingly, the ayahuasca users showed no personality disorders, and had lower psychopathological indices and better cognitive performance in some neuropsychological tests than the non-users. The study concludes that there is “no evidence of psychological maladjustment, mental health deterioration or cognitive impairment in the ayahuasca-using group.” These results are consistent with earlier results obtained by other research groups that had studied smaller samples of users. This is the first study with long-term ayahuasca users that both assessed a sample of this size and replicated the results. The authors indicate that the study sample was composed of people that have been using ayahuasca for many years, which is a clear sign that they tolerate the ayahuasca well. The researchers suggest that future studies should focus specifically on participants that initiate the use of ayahuasca and then stop because of a psychological issue possibly related to its use.

José Carlos Bouso is currently a member of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS) and will be discussing the results of this study during the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research, to be held in Amsterdam on the 6th and 7th of October 2012.

The scientific article (both abstract and full text) can be found here.

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Nederlands onderzoek naar ibogaïne in de planning

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Een artikel in de Volkskrant van vanochtend (13 augustus 2012) laat zien dat er in Nijmegen plannen zijn voor onderzoek naar de effectiviteit van ibogaïne bij de behandeling van verslaving. Alhoewel ibogaïne al sporadisch wordt gebruikt, is er nog nauwelijks wetenschappelijk onderzoek met mensen gedaan.

Een onderzoeksteam, onder meer bestaande uit verslavingsarts Maarten Belgers en psychiater Toon van Oosteren wil – in samenwerking met de Radboud Universiteit in Nijmegen – onderzoeken of ibogaïne onder strikte begeleiding in een medische setting, effectief kan zijn in de behandeling van verslaving. Afgezien van onderzoek in dieren is er nog geen klinisch onderzoek in mensen gedaan.

Toon van Oosteren zegt in de Volkskrant dat ze tien tot vijftien verslaafden een ibogaïnebehandeling willen laten ondergaan. Het team concentreert zich nu eerst op de zoektocht naar ibogaïne die voldoet aan de strenge eisen voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek.

Lees hier het artikel in de Volkskrant.

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Dutch plans for ibogaine research

/ Iboga / Ibogaine, Publications /

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An article in Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant shows there are plans to study the effectiveness of ibogaine in the treatment of addiction in Nijmegen.

The research team, consisting of addiction doctor Maarten Belgers and psychiatrist Toon van Oosteren, works in cooperation with the Radboud University in Nijmegen – to study whether ibogaine can – under strict medical conditions – be used effectively in the treatment of substance dependence. Despite various studies in animals, there has yet been no clinical study in humans. This study would be the first.

In de Volkskrant, Toon van Oosteren states that the researchers intend to subject ten to fifteen people with substance dependence to a treatment with ibogaine. Presently, the team is looking for ibogaine that is pure enough to comply with the rigorous scientific standards for medicines.

Read the whole article in Dutch here.

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Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study

/ Ayahuasca, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive plant beverage containing the serotonergic 5-HT2A agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase-inhibiting alkaloids (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine) that render it orally active. Ayahuasca ingestion is a central feature in several Brazilian syncretic churches that have expanded their activities to urban Brazil, Europe and North America. Members of these groups typically ingest ayahuasca at least twice per month. Prior research has shown that acute ayahuasca increases blood flow in prefrontal and temporal brain regions and that it elicits intense modifications in thought processes, perception and emotion. However, regular ayahuasca use does not seem to induce the pattern of addiction-related problems that characterize drugs of abuse. To study the impact of repeated ayahuasca use on general psychological well-being, mental health and cognition, here we assessed personality, psychopathology, life attitudes and neuropsychological performance in regular ayahuasca users (n = 127) and controls (n = 115) at baseline and 1 year later. Controls were actively participating in non-ayahuasca religions. Users showed higher Reward Dependence and Self-Transcendence and lower Harm Avoidance and Self-Directedness. They scored significantly lower on all psychopathology measures, showed better performance on the Stroop test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Letter-Number Sequencing task from the WAIS-III, and better scores on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. Analysis of life attitudes showed higher scores on the Spiritual Orientation Inventory, the Purpose in Life Test and the Psychosocial Well-Being test. Despite the lower number of participants available at follow-up, overall differences with controls were maintained one year later. In conclusion, we found no evidence of psychological maladjustment, mental health deterioration or cognitive impairment in the ayahuasca-using group.

Bouso, J. C, González, D., Fondevila, S., Cutchet, M., Fernández, X., Barbosa, P. C. R., … Riba, J. (2012). Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study. PLoS ONE 7(8), 1-13.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042421
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Breath and Body: Scientific and Experiential Perspectives on Breathwork - September 23rd

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