OPEN Foundation

Menu

Author name: OPEN Foundation

Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness

/ Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / / , ,

Abstract

A large body of evidence, including longitudinal analyses of personality change, suggests that core personality traits are predominantly stable after age 30. To our knowledge, no study has demonstrated changes in personality in healthy adults after an experimentally manipulated discrete event. Intriguingly, double-blind controlled studies have shown that the classic hallucinogen psilocybin occasions personally and spiritually significant mystical experiences that predict long-term changes in behaviors, attitudes and values. In the present report we assessed the effect of psilocybin on changes in the five broad domains of personality – Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Consistent with participant claims of hallucinogen-occasioned increases in aesthetic appreciation, imagination, and creativity, we found significant increases in Openness following a high-dose psilocybin session. In participants who had mystical experiences during their psilocybin session, Openness remained significantly higher than baseline more than 1 year after the session. The findings suggest a specific role for psilocybin and mystical-type experiences in adult personality change.

MacLean, K. A., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2011). Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(11), 1453-1461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881111420188
Link to full text

Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness Read More »

Revisiting Wasson's Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita Muscaria

/ Biology & Ethnobotany, Humanities & Art, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications / /

Abstract

In 1968 R. Gordon Wasson first proposed his groundbreaking theory identifying Soma, the hallucinogenic sacrament of the Vedas, as the Amanita muscaria mushroom. While Wasson’s theory has garnered acclaim, it is not without its faults. One omission in Wasson’s theory is his failure to explain how pressing and filtering Soma, as described in the Rig Veda, supports his theory of Soma’s identity. Several critics have reasoned that such preparation should be unnecessary if equivalent results can be obtained by consuming the raw plant, as is done with other psychoactive mushrooms. In order to address these specific criticisms over 600 anecdotal accounts of Amanita muscaria inebriation were collected and analyzed to determine the impact of preparation on Amanita muscaria’s effects. The findings of this study demonstrated that the effects of Amanita muscaria were related to the type of preparation employed, and that its toxic effects were considerably reduced by preparations that paralleled those described for Soma in the Rig Veda. While unlikely to end debate over the identity of Soma, this study’s findings help to solidify the foundation of Wasson’s theory, and also to demonstrate the importance of preparation in understanding and uncovering the true identity of Soma.

Feeney, K. (2010). Revisiting Wasson’s Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita Muscaria. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 42(4), 499-506. https://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/02791072.2010.10400712
Link to full text

Revisiting Wasson's Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita Muscaria Read More »

Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion

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

Abstract

The hallucinogenic brew Ayahuasca, a rich source of serotonergic agonists and reuptake inhibitors, has been used for ages by Amazonian populations during religious ceremonies. Among all perceptual changes induced by Ayahuasca, the most remarkable are vivid “seeings.” During such seeings, users report potent imagery. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a closed-eyes imagery task, we found that Ayahuasca produces a robust increase in the activation of several occipital, temporal, and frontal areas. In the primary visual area, the effect was comparable in magnitude to the activation levels of natural image with the eyes open. Importantly, this effect was specifically correlated with the occurrence of individual perceptual changes measured by psychiatric scales. The activity of cortical areas BA30 and BA37, known to be involved with episodic memory and the processing of contextual associations, was also potentiated by Ayahuasca intake during imagery. Finally, we detected a positive modulation by Ayahuasca of BA 10, a frontal area involved with intentional prospective imagination, working memory and the processing of information from internal sources. Therefore, our results indicate that Ayahuasca seeings stem from the activation of an extensive network generally involved with vision, memory, and intention. By boosting the intensity of recalled images to the same level of natural image, Ayahuasca lends a status of reality to inner experiences. It is therefore understandable why Ayahuasca was culturally selected over many centuries by rain forest shamans to facilitate mystical revelations of visual nature.

de Aurojo, D. B., Ribeiro, S., Cecchi, G. A., Carvalho, F. M., Sanchez, T. A., Pinto, J. P., … Santos, A. C. (2011). Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion. Human Brain Mapping, 33(11), 2550-2560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21381
Link to full text

Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion Read More »

EARS onderzoekers werkgroep

/ Uncategorized /

ayaears508

In april 2011 woonden meer dan 300 mensen het European Ayahuasca Research Symposium bij, een halfdaags symposium mede georganiseerd door Stichting OPEN en MAPS.

Dit symposium bracht onderzoekers uit heel Europa samen die de laatste jaren onderzoek hebben gedaan naar Ayahuasca en DMT vanuit o.a. de antropologie, neurowetenschappen, psychologie en religiestudies. De volgende ochtend ontmoetten de sprekers andere Europese ayahuasca onderzoekers voor een onderzoekswerkgroep achter gesloten deuren bedoeld om toekomstig Ayahuasca onderzoek en mogelijke samenwerking binnen Europa te stimuleren. De werkgroep slaagde erin om een gedeelde kennisbasis op te bouwen van lopend en aankomend Ayahuasca onderzoek, om discussies over methodologie en institutionele toestemming voor onderzoek te faciliteren, en om persoonlijke en professionele contacten te maken tussen de enkele Ayahuasca onderzoekers die Europa momenteel rijk is.

EARS onderzoekers werkgroep Read More »

EARS researcher workgroup

/ Publications /

ayaears508

In April 2011, over 300 people convened at the University of Amsterdam to attend the European Ayahuasca Research Symposium, a half-day seminar co-sponsored by The OPEN Foundation and MAPS.

The Symposium brought together researchers from across Europe who over the last few years have been studying ayahuasca and DMT within the disciplines of anthropology, neuroscience, psychology and religious studies. The next morning, the presenters from the seminar were joined by other European ayahuasca scholars for a closed-door researcher workgroup intended to stimulate future ayahuasca research and possible collaborations in Europe. The workgroup succeeded in building a shared knowledge base of ongoing and planned ayahuasca research, in facilitating discussions on methodology and obtaining institutional approvals for research, and in developing personal and professional contacts among the few ayahuasca researchers currently based in Europe.

EARS researcher workgroup Read More »

Psychedelic Experience as a Heuristic Tool for Exploring the Mind and the Brain

/ Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications / /

Abstract

I discuss the ontological nature and heuristic value of psychedelic experience. I argue that psychedelic phenomena may manifest the activity of certain mental formations and brain mechanisms that otherwise remain hidden. Thus, psychedelic phenomena can be heuristic tools and intriguing objects of the scientific study. I consider two types of psychedelic phenomena in particular. The first is the moral cleansing that may accompany a psychedelic trip. The second is the appearance of visual and auditory hallucinations. I establish a unified explanatory ground for the phenomena that are commonly viewed as distinct in their genesis. I explain both types of phenomena as products of the amplified imaginative ability of the brain under a substance’s influence. I suggest that the activation of imagination causes an increased empathy and thus accentuates moral feelings. I propose the hypothesis that hallucinations are mental objects of a quantum nature. I argue that no ontologically separate reality stands behind psychedelic visions.

Alyushin, A. (2011). Psychedelic Experience as a Heuristic Tool for Exploring the Mind and the Brain. NeuroQuantology, 9(3), 577‐590. http://dx.doi.org/10.14704/nq.2011.9.3.419
Link to full text

Psychedelic Experience as a Heuristic Tool for Exploring the Mind and the Brain Read More »

Single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for people with heroin dependence

/ Ketamine, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / / , , , , ,

Abstract

A prior study found that one ketamine-assisted psychotherapy session was significantly more effective than active placebo in promoting abstinence (Krupitsky et al. 2002). In this study of the efficacy of single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in promoting abstinence in people with heroin dependence, 59 detoxified inpatients with heroin dependence received a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KPT) session prior to their discharge from an addiction treatment hospital, and were then randomized into two treatment groups. Participants in the first group received two addiction counseling sessions followed by two KPT sessions, with sessions scheduled on a monthly interval (multiple KPT group). Participants in the second group received two addiction counseling sessions on a monthly interval, but no additional ketamine therapy sessions (single KPT group). At one-year follow-up, survival analysis demonstrated a significantly higher rate of abstinence in the multiple KPT group. Thirteen out of 26 subjects (50%) in the multiple KPT group remained abstinent, compared to 6 out of 27 subjects (22.2%) in the single KPT group (p < 0.05). No differences between groups were found in depression, anxiety, craving for heroin, or their understanding of the meaning of their lives. It was concluded that three sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy are more effective than a single session for the treatment of heroin addiction.

Krupitsky, E. M., Burakov, A. M., Dunaevsky, I. V., Romanova, T. N., Slavina, T. Y., & Grinenko, A. Y. (2007). Single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for people with heroin dependence. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 39(1), 13-19. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2007.10399860
Link to full text

Single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for people with heroin dependence Read More »

Reassessing the cultural and psychopharmacological significance of Banisteriopsis caapi: preparation, classification and use among the Piaroa of Southern Venezuela

/ Anthropology & Sociology, Ayahuasca, Biology & Ethnobotany, Papers, Publications /

Abstract

Recent attention to the monoamine oxidase inhibiting properties of Banisteriopsis caapi‘s harmala alkaloids has precluded a balanced assessment of B. caapi‘s overall significance to indigenous South American societies. Relatively little attention has been paid to the cultural contexts, local meanings and patterns of use of B. caapi among snuff-using societies, such as the Piaroa, who do not prepare decoctions containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) admixtures. This article reviews the psychopharmacological literature on B. caapi in light of recent ethnographic work conducted among the Piaroa of southern Venezuela. Piaroa shamans use only B. caapi’s cambium, identify at least five distinct varieties of B. caapi, and emphasise the plant’s importance for heightening empathy. Some Piaroa people also attribute a range of extra-shamanic uses to B. caapi, including as a stimulant and hunting aid. In light of the psychopharmacological complexity of harmala alkaloids, and ethnographic evidence for a wide range of B. caapi uses, future research should reconsider B. caapi‘s cultural heritage and psychopharmacological potential as a stimulant and antidepressant-like substance.

Rodd, R. (2008). Reassessing the cultural and psychopharmacological significance of Banisteriopsis caapi: preparation, classification and use among the Piaroa of Southern Venezuela. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 40(3), 301-307. 10.1080/02791072.2008.10400645
Link to full text

Reassessing the cultural and psychopharmacological significance of Banisteriopsis caapi: preparation, classification and use among the Piaroa of Southern Venezuela Read More »

MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

/ Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, MDMA, Papers, Psychology, Publications / / , , , ,

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety of different doses of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy administered in a psychotherapeutic setting to women with chronic PTSD secondary to a sexual assault, and also to obtain preliminary data regarding efficacy. Although this study was originally planned to include 29 subjects, political pressures led to the closing of the study before it could be finished, at which time only six subjects had been treated. Preliminary results from those six subjects are presented here. We found that low doses of MDMA (between 50 and 75 mg) were both psychologically and physiologically safe for all the subjects. Future studies in larger samples and using larger doses are needed in order to further clarify the safety and efficacy of MDMA in the clinical setting in subjects with PTSD.

Bouso, J. C., Doblin, R., Farré, M., Alcázar, M. Á., & Gómez-Jarabo, G. (2008). MDMA-assisted psychotherapy using low doses in a small sample of women with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 40(3), 225-236., 10.1080/02791072.2008.10400637
Link to full text

MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Read More »

Combating substance abuse with ibogaine: pre- and posttreatment recommendations and an example of successive model fitting analyses

/ Iboga / Ibogaine, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / / ,

Abstract

Ibogaine is an indole alkaloid derived from the root bark of the African shrub Tabernan the iboga and it has been used for many years as a medicinal and ceremonial agent in West Central Africa. Furthermore, both anecdotal observations and recent studies suggest that ibogaine alleviates withdrawal symptoms and reduces drug cravings. Although ibogaine articles typically include information bearing on the duration of drug abstinence following treatment, little if any attention is given to the psychological and environmental factors that might facilitate a positive treatment outcome. Hence, a major purpose of the present review is to suggest a number of theory-driven, pretreatment and posttreatment recommendations that have good potential for enhancing ibogaine’s effectiveness. The second major purpose of this review is to demonstrate, through a reanalysis of previously published results, the utility of conducting successive model fitting analyses on ibogaine treatment data. Such analyses are useful for determining both the strength and form of the association between pre-ibogaine treatment variables and post-ibogaine treatment outcomes. Finally, in order to facilitate future quantitative reviews, the authors recommend that a minimum set of patient- and treatment-related variables be included in all ibogaine publications involving human participants.

Hittner, J. B., & Quello, S. B. (2004). Mechanisms of antiaddictive actions of ibogaine. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 36(2), 191-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2004.10399729
Link to full text

Combating substance abuse with ibogaine: pre- and posttreatment recommendations and an example of successive model fitting analyses Read More »

Breath and Body: Scientific and Experiential Perspectives on Breathwork - September 23rd

REGISTER NOW