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Investigating the Mechanisms of Hallucinogen-Induced Visions Using 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA): A Randomized Controlled Trial in Humans

/ Papers, Psychology, Publications / / , , , , ,

Abstract

Background: The mechanisms of drug-induced visions are poorly understood. Very few serotonergic hallucinogens have been studied in humans in decades, despite widespread use of these drugs and potential relevance of their mechanisms to hallucinations occurring in psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated the mechanisms of hallucinogen-induced visions by measuring the visual and perceptual effects of the hallucinogenic serotonin 5-HT2AR receptor agonist and monoamine releaser, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. We found that MDA increased self-report measures of mystical-type experience and other hallucinogen-like effects, including reported visual alterations. MDA produced a significant increase in closed-eye visions (CEVs), with considerable individual variation. Magnitude of CEVs after MDA was associated with lower performance on measures of contour integration and object recognition.

Conclusions/Significance: Drug-induced visions may have greater intensity in people with poor sensory or perceptual processing, suggesting common mechanisms with other hallucinatory syndromes. MDA is a potential tool to investigate mystical experiences and visual perception.

Baggott, M. J., Siegrist, J. D., Galloway, G. P., Robertson, L. C., Coyle, J. R., & Mendelson, J. E. (2010). Investigating the Mechanisms of Hallucinogen-Induced Visions Using 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA): A Randomized Controlled Trial in Humans. PLoS ONE, 5(12), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014074
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Evolution and origins of the Mazatec hallucinogenic sage, Salvia divinorum (Lamiaceae): a molecular phylogenetic approach

/ Biology & Ethnobotany, Papers, Publications, Salvia / Salvinorin A / / , ,

Abstract

Salvia divinorum Epl. & Játiva-M. (Lamiaceae) is a potent hallucinogenic plant that is classified within Salvia subgenus Calosphace, section Dusenostachys, and hypothesized to be an interspecific hybrid. It is of ethnobotanical significance due to its employment in traditional healing ceremonies by the Mazatecs of Oaxaca, Mexico, and due to its unique pharmacology—a highly selective, non-nitrogenous, j-opioid receptor agonist. In order to test its phylogenetic position and putative hybridity, we sequenced multiple DNA regions (ITS, trnL-trnF, and psbA-trnH) of 52 species—representing the major lineages of subgenus Calosphace—and six accessions of S. divinorum. Our molecular phylogenetic results suggest that S. divinorum should not be classified within Dusenostachys and that it is not a hybrid. Additionally, we determine that the closest known relative of this psychoactive Mexican sage is S. venulosa, a rare endemic of Colombia.

Jenks, A. A., Walker, J.B., Kim, S. C. (2010). Evolution and origins of the Mazatec hallucinogenic sage, Salvia divinorum (Lamiaceae): a molecular phylogenetic approach. Journal of Plant Research, 124(5), 593-600. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10265-010-0394-6
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Ayahuasca, Salutogenesis and the Need for „Ecological“ Approaches

/ Ayahuasca, Papers, Publications / /

Abstract

In Western science, extraordinary or visionary states of consciousness are traditionally discussed mainly in terms of psychopathology, that is, in the sense of mental disease. This applies even more when they are associated with psychoactive substances such as the herbal decoction Ayahuasca, which are generally called “hallucinogens” with the connotation “not objective, unreal”. However, responsible work with psychoactive herbal decoctions like Ayahuasca – similar to many forms of meditation – has salutogenic potential, i.e. it can enhance physical, mental and spiritual health by calling into play what is referred to as “participating consciousness”. Rigid feeling, thought, and behavioural patterns can unclench, the self can rearrange itself and develop its inner and outer resources more deeply.

The thesis of this article is that for an adequate understanding of these processes, the familiar “linear” thinking no longer suffices, rather, an “ecology of mind” is needed (Bateson 1972), i.e. less divisive, less objectifying explanations which also do not exclude the fundamental paradoxes of human existence. Of course, such approaches occasionally need some getting used to.

In the following, a few basic elements of the ecological approach will be explained (chapter 2). Chapter 3 will then analyze whether or not and to what extent this approach can explain extraordinary states of consciousness better than traditional, linear thinking.

Friczewski, F. (2010). Ayahuasca, Salutogenesis and the Need for „Ecological“ Approaches.

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Psychobiology of Drug-Induced Religious Experience: From the Brain 'Locus of Religion' to Cognitive Unbinding

/ Ayahuasca, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / / ,

Abstract

The recent interest in the psychopharmacological underpinnings of religious experiences has led to both the laboratory characterizations of drug-induced mystical events and psychobiological models of religious experiences rooted in evolution and fitness. Our examination of this literature suggests that these theories may be congruent only within more modern religious and cultural settings and are not generalizable to all historical beliefs, as would be expected from an evolutionarily conserved biological mechanism. The strong influence of culture on the subjective effects of drugs as well as religious thoughts argues against the concept of a common pathway in the brain uniquely responsible for these experiences. Rather, the role of personal beliefs, expectations and experiences may interject bias into the interpretation of psychoactive drug action as a reflection of biologically based religious thought. Thus, psychobiological research proposing specific brain mechanisms should consider anthropological and historical data to address alternative explanations to the “fitness” of religious thought. A psychobiological model of the religious experience based on the concept of cognitive unbinding seems to accommodate these data better than that of a specific brain locus of religion.

Nencini, P., & Grant, G. A. (2010). Psychobiology of Drug-Induced Religious Experience: From the Brain ‘Locus of Religion’ to Cognitive Unbinding. Substance Use & Misuse, 45(13), 2130–2151. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/10826081003713803
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Methodology for and the determination of the major constituents and metabolites of the Amazonian botanical medicine ayahuasca in human urine

/ Ayahuasca, Papers, Publications / / , , , ,

Abstract

Ayahuasca, also known as caapi or yage among various South American groups, holds a highly esteemed and millennia-old position in these cultures’ medical and religious pharmacopeia. There is now an increasing interest in the potential for modern medical applications of ayahuasca, as well as concerns regarding its increasing potential for abuse. Toxicological and clinical research to address these issues will require information regarding its metabolism and clearance. Thus, a rapid, sensitive and specific method for characterization and quantitation of the major constituents and of the metabolites of ayahuasca in urine is needed. The present research provides a protocol for conducting such analyses. The characteristics of the method, conducted by sample dilution and using HPLC–electrospray ionization (ESI)–selected reaction monitoring (SRM)–tandem mass spectrometry, are presented. The application of the analytical protocol to urine samples collected from three individuals that were administered ayahuasca has also been demonstrated. The data show that the major metabolite of the hallucinogenic component of ayahuasca, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), is the corresponding N-oxide, the first time this metabolite has been described in in vivo studies in humans. Further, very little DMT was detected in urine, despite the inhibition of monoamine oxidase afforded by the presence of the harmala alkaloids in ayahuasca. The major harmala alkaloid excreted was tetrahydroharmine. Other excretion products and metabolites were also identified and quantified. The method described would be suitable for use in further toxicological and clinical research on ayahuasca.

McIlhenny, E. H., Riba, J., Barbanoj, M. J., Strassman, R., & Barker, S. A. (2011). Methodology for and the determination of the major constituents and metabolites of the Amazonian botanical medicine ayahuasca in human urine. Biomedical Chromatography, 25(9), 970-984. 10.1002/bmc.1551
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Trouw: Ecstasy tegen PTSS

/ Uncategorized /

In de aanloop naar ons congres, dat afgelopen weekend plaatsvond, publiceerde dagblad Trouw al een artikel waarin Joost Breeksema (voorzitter van Stichting OPEN) uitvoerig aan het woord komt. Vandaag bericht de krant over het op het congres gepresenteerde onderzoek van Peter Oehen, naar de mogelijkheid om posttraumatische stressstoornis (PTSS) te behandelen met MDMA.

Trouw: “Uit het onderzoek bleek dat patiënten na het gebruik van MDMA minder last van angst hebben en beter in staat zijn negatieve gevoelens te tolereren. Bovendien voelen ze minder emotionele en fysieke pijn.”

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Trouw: Ecstasy against PTSD

/ MDMA, Publications /

In anticipation of our conference, which took place last weekend, newspaper Trouw published an article in which Joost Breeksema (president of the OPEN Foundation) is interviewed. Today the newspaper writes about the research into the treatment of PTSD with MDMA that Peter Oehen presented at the conference. 

Trouw: “The study showed that patients, after the treatment with MDMA, experienced less anxiety and were better able to tolerate negative emotions. Moreover, they experienced less emotional and physical pain.”

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Konstantin Kuteykin-Teplyakov – Molecules of Mysticism: Pharmacology Meets Anthropology

/ Uncategorized /

“Molecules of mysticism” are chemical substances that are able to induce mystical experience, increasing the feeling of closeness to the god (entheogens) or to other people (empathogens). It is quite likely, that every mystical experience is mediated chemically, either by some substances of external origin or by endogenous molecules produced directly in the brain. There are plenty of chemical structures, associated with entheogenic and empathogenic properties, and their action involves the release of other neurotransmitters, binding to many brain receptors (5-HT2a, 5-HT2c, 5-HT1a, CB1, NMDA, mAChR, etc.) followed by activation of several signal transduction pathways and alterations in gene transcription profile. Additionally, the mechanisms of several adverse effects for entheogens and empathogens have been elucidated during the last years. Considering that “molecules of mysticism” works not only and not so much on the body level, but mainly on consciousness and behaviour, and given the intrinsic difficulties associated with lab-based studies of scheduled substances on human beings, the methods of social anthropology (observation during fieldwork, surveys, interviews, and analysis of reports) might be used to supplement the classical pharmacological methodology. Web2.0 approach, based on content generated by users (like forums, wikis, online-based databanks of “trip reports”, multimedia-sharing services etc.), also may serve as a valuable tool and information source to study the relationship between drugs and humans.

About Konstantin Kuteykin-Teplyakov

Konstantin Kuteykin-Teplyakov, PhD, investigates the relationship between human beings and chemical substances by combining the methods of pharmacology and anthropology, with a special focus on Web 2.0 technologies. During his work as a researcher in Russia and Germany, he studied the molecular mechanism of brain function, as well as the implication of progress in pharmacology for modern society.

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Peer Perspectives: Psychedelic Work at the End of Life — The Inner World of the Dying & the Practice of Guiding - Aug 27

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