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Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: tryptamine and beta-carboline constituents of ayahuasca

April 1, 1984 / Ayahuasca, DMT, Ethnobotany, Neuroscience, Other subjects, Papers, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , ,

Abstract

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage derived by boiling the bark of the Malpighiaceous liana Banisteriopsis caapi together with the leaves of various admixture plants, viz. Psychotria viridis, Psychotria carthagenensis, or Diplopterys cabrerana. B. caapi contains harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine while the admixtures contain N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). DMT, a potent hallucinogen, is inactive orally due to degradation by visceral monoamine oxidase (MAO). The β-carbolines, however, are highly active reversible inhibitors of MAO and may protect the DMT from deamination by MAO and render it orally active. This mechanism has been proposed to underlie the oral activity of ayahuasca but has not been experimentally confirmed. In the present study the constituents of the admixture plants and the alkaloids of eight ayahuasca samples from Peru were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Several B. caapi cultivars were quantitatively compared for variations in alkaloid content. Three admixture plants used rarely in the manufacture of ayahuasca were also screened for alkaloids. A selected sample of β-carbolines were screened for activity as MAO inhibitors using an in vitro assay system, and structure/activity relationships were compared. Inhibition observed with single compounds was compared with the activity of selected samples of ayahuasca which were screened in the system and also with the activity of mixtures of β-carbolines. The levels of DMT and β-carbolines found in the ayahuasca samples examined in the present study were an order of magnitude greater than the levels reported in a previous study. Ayahuasca was found to be an extremely effective inhibitor of MAO in vitro and the degree of inhibition was directly correlated with the concentration of MAO-inhibiting β-carbolines. Inhibition experiments using mixtures of β-carbolines indicated that their effects in combination are additive, rather than synergistic or antagonistic. Implications of the results in understanding the pharmacology of ayahuasca are discussed.

McKenna, D. J., Towers, G. N., & Abbott, F. (1984). Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of ayahuasca. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 10(2), 195-223. 10.1016/0378-8741(84)90003-5
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The Healing Journey: new approaches to consciousness

December 12, 1974 / Books, Publications / By

“In this remarkable boohealingjourneyk, Chilean-American psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo takes us on a scientific adventure through his groundbreaking research into new experiential methods of psychotherapy facilitated by psychedelic substances. The Healing Journey reveals these consciousness-expanding compounds to be fascinating therapeutic tools that are now—40 years after the original publication—gaining wider recognition in Western clinical and academic circles.

This book takes an in-depth look at the spiritual and psychotherapeutic potential of the amphetamine derivatives MDA and MMDA, harmaline (the active compound in ayahuasca), and ibogaine. To distinguish them from classical psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin, Naranjo coins the terms “emotion-enhancers” and “fantasy-enhancers” for these substances.
This book is a must-read for all serious students of consciousness and the human psyche, and for those with a personal or professional desire to explore revolutionary innovations in psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, experimental psychiatry, or the psychology of religion. The exceptional clarity of Naranjo’s book also makes it an important resource for any intelligent layperson seeking information to guide them in their own search for spiritual growth and self-exploration.”
–Stanislav Grof, author of LSD Psychotherapy
The Healing Journey: New Approaches to Consciousness, door Claudio Naranjo, Pantheon Books, 235 pagina’s.
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LSD-assisted psychotherapy in patients with terminal cancer

May 22, 1973 / Anxiety disorders / PTSD, Depression, LSD, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

The paper describes the results of a clinical study exploring the potential of a complex psychotherapeutic program utilizing psychedelic compounds to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering of cancer patients. A total of 60 cancer patients participated in this experimental study. In 44 of these patients, LSD (200-500 ug per os) was administered as an adjunct to psychotherapy; in 19 patients, a new psychedelic compound, dipropyltryptamine (DPT) was administered (60-105 mg i.m.). Three of these patients received both LSD and DPT administered on different sessions.

The therapeutic results were assessed by means of a rating scale reflecting the degree of the patients’ depression, psychological isolation, anxiety, difficulty in management, fear of death, and pain. The ratings were done by attending physicians, nurses, family members, LSD therapists and cotherapists, and independent raters. In addition, the amount of narcotics required in the management of the patient was measured before and after the psychedelic sessions.

Systematic rating was carried out in a group of 31 cancer patients treated by LSD. The comparison of the means of individual ratings from pre- to posttreatment showed significant improvement in all the measured parameters for most of the raters. There was a definite reduction of the narcotic medication; it did not, however, reach the level of statistical significance. The pre- to post-treatment comparison of the global indexes used as gross indicators of the degree of emotional and physical distress, indicated that approximately 29 % of the patients showed dramatic improvement, and another 41.9 % moderate improvement, with 22.6 % essentially unchanged. In 6.4 % of the patients, global indexes showed a decrement in the post therapy ratings.

Grof, S., Goodman, L. E., Richards, W. A., & Kurland, A. A. (1972). LSD-assisted psychotherapy in patients with terminal cancer. International pharmacopsychiatry, 8(3), 129-144.
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Hallucinogens and Shamanism

May 17, 1973 / Books, Publications / By

harnerAnthropologists have long been fascinated by the worldview and religious beliefs of primitive peoples. Only recently, however, with the surge of interest in hallucinogenic agents in our own culture, have researchers begun to acknowledge the essential role of such substances in the cosmology of many of these primitive societies. In this unusual collection, ten original studies explore the use of hallucinogens in shamanism: the ancient and widespread practice of invoking a trance state to perceive and manipulate supernatural forces.

The research ranges from the aboriginal tribes of the Upper Amazon to cultures undergoing Westernization, such as the Apaches of the Southwestern United States; from the myth-enshrouded cults of medieval witchcraft to a modern laboratory experiment. The authors discuss the ritual use of ayahuasca (a potent tea made from the jungle vine Banisteriopsis), psychotropic mushrooms, peyote cactus, and the more esoteric solanaceous plants — mandrake, henbane, and “deadly nightshade.”

Unlike most earlier anthropological reports on shamanism, these essays go beyond objective observation. Most of the authors have succeeded in penetrating the primitive mystical experience by taking the psychotropic catalyst and participating in the native ceremonies. Almost uniformly, their fascinating accounts speak of the deep experience of another reality and a profound duality of body and spirit. In this regard, Hallucinogens and Shamanism not only illuminates the thought patterns and religious views of many non-literate societies, but adds a new dimension to the psychology of religion.

Hallucinogens and Shamanism, by Michael J. Harner (Ed.), Galaxy Books series, Oxford University Press, 224 pages.

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Hallucinogens and Shamanism

February 6, 2022 / Boeken, Book reviews, Publicaties / By

Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the worldview and religious beliefs of primitive peoples. Only recently, however, with the surge of interest in hallucinogenic agents in our own culture, have researchers begun to acknowledge the essential role of such substances in the cosmology of many of these primitive societies. In this unusual collection, ten original studies explore the use of hallucinogens in shamanism: the ancient and widespread practice of invoking a trance state to perceive and manipulate supernatural forces.

The research ranges from the aboriginal tribes of the Upper Amazon to cultures undergoing Westernization, such as the Apaches of the Southwestern United States; from the myth-enshrouded cults of medieval witchcraft to a modern laboratory experiment. The authors discuss the ritual use of ayahuasca (a potent tea made from the jungle vine Banisteriopsis), psychotropic mushrooms, peyote cactus, and the more esoteric solanaceous plants — mandrake, henbane, and “deadly nightshade.”

Unlike most earlier anthropological reports on shamanism, these essays go beyond objective observation. Most of the authors have succeeded in penetrating the primitive mystical experience by taking the psychotropic catalyst and participating in the native ceremonies. Almost uniformly, their fascinating accounts speak of the deep experience of another reality and a profound duality of body and spirit. In this regard, Hallucinogens and Shamanism not only illuminates the thought patterns and religious views of many non-literate societies, but adds a new dimension to the psychology of religion.

Hallucinogens and Shamanism, door Michael J. Harner (Ed.), Galaxy Books reeks, Oxford University Press, 224 pagina’s.

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LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer

February 1, 1973 / Anxiety disorders / PTSD, Depression, LSD, Other subjects, Other substances, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

The paper describes the results of a clinical study exploring the potential of a complex psychotherapeutic program utilizing psychedilic compounds to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering of cancer patients. A total of 60 cancer patients participated in this experimental study. In 44 of these patients, LSD (200-500 μg per os) was administered as an adjunct to psychotherapy; in 19 patients, a new psychedelic compound, dipropyltryptamine (DPT) was administered (60-105 mg i.m.). Three of these patients received both LSD and DPT administered on different sessions. The therapeutic results were assessed by means of a rating scale reflecting the degree of the patients’ depression, psychological isolation, anxiety, difficulty in management, fear of death, and pain. The ratings were done by attending physicians, nurses, family members, LSD therapists and cotherapists, and independent raters. In addition, the amount of narcotics required in the management of the patient was measured before and after the psychedelic sessions. Systematic rating was carried out in a group of 31 cancer patients treated by LSD. The comparison of the means of individual ratings from pre to posttreatment showed significant improvement in all the measured parameters for most of the raters. There was a definite reduction of the narcotic medication; it did not, however, reach the level of statistical significance. The pre to posttreatment comparison of the global indexes used as gross indicators of the degree of emotional and physical distress, indicated that approximately 29% of the patients showed dramatic improvement, and another 41.9% moderate improvement, with 22.6% essentially unchanged. In 6.4% of the patients, global indexes showed a decrement in the posttherapy ratings.
Grof, S., Goodman, L. E., Richards, W. A., & Kurland, A. A. (1973). LSD-assisted psychotherapy in patients with terminal cancer. International pharmacopsychiatry, 8, 129-144., 10.1159/000467984
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DPT as an adjunct in psychotherapy of alcoholics.

January 1, 1973 / Addiction, DMT, Other substances, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

The usefulness of dipropyltryptamine (DPT) as an adjunct to psychedelic therapy was explored in a pilot study carried out on 51 alcoholic patients from the Alcoholic Rehabilitation Unit at Spring Grove State Hospital. The evaluation of the results was based on the comparison of pre- and posttreatment results of a battery of psychological tests and of pretreatment and follow-up ratings of an independent team of social workers. The psychological tests involved the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI), Personal orientation inventory (POI), Raven progressive matrices, Psychiatric evaluation profile (PEP), and Benton visual retention test. The social history questionnaire used by the social workers for assessment of the patients’ adjustment consisted of 0-10-point scales measuring residential, occupational and interpersonal adjustment, abstinence, and global adjustment.
Grof, S., Soskin, R. A., Richards, W. A., & Kurland, A. A. (1973). DPT as an adjunct in psychotherapy of alcoholics. International pharmacopsychiatry, 8, 104-115., 10.1159/000467979
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LSD-assisted psychotherapy and the human encounter with death

May 22, 1972 / Anxiety disorders / PTSD, Depression, LSD, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: My own experience with Maria convinced me that the living can do a great deal to make the passage easier for the dyingJ to raise the most purely physiological act of human existence to the level of consciousness and perhaps even of spirituality.

Aldous Huxley wrote these words after being with his first wife as she died of cancer in 1955. During her final hours, he employed a hypnotic technique to remind her of spontaneous peak experiences she had known during her life, thereby seeking to guide her toward similar states of consciousness as the death process occurred. In his novel/sland, he describes a similar scene during the death of his character Lakshmi. Also in this novel, he writes of the “mokshamedioine” that gives inhabitants of the island a mystical vision that frees them from the fear of death and enables them to live more fully during their everyday lives. To those who knew Aldous Huxley and have read his works (Huxley, 1963a,b), there is no doubt that, in Huxley’s mind, £cmokshamedieine” was a psychedelic oompound similar to mescaline, psilocybin, and LSD. The seriousness with which he envisaged this futuristic scene is well portrayed by his second wife, Laura) in her description of Huxley’s request for LSD a few hours before he himself died of cancer in 1963 (Huxley, 1968).

 Richards, W., Grof, S., Goodman, L., & Kurland, A. (1972). LSD-assisted psychotherapy and the human encounter with death. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 4(2), 121-150.

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Attenuation and anticipation: A therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide

October 1, 1967 / LSD, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By /

Abstract

Theoretical reasons for the use of LSD as an analgesic agent are elaborated. In a series of 128 patients the analgesic action of LSD is further confirmed, and the undesirable pharmacologic effects are discussed. The relative safety of the drug for that use is demonstrated, and further study is recommended.

Kast, E. (1967). Attenuation of anticipation: a therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide. Psychiatric Quarterly, 41(4), 646-657. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01575629
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Psychedelic Agents in Creative Problem-Solving: A Pilot Study

April 12, 1966 / Cacti / Mescaline, Creativity, LSD, Papers, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , , ,

Abstract

Based on the frequently reported similarities between creative and psychedelic (drug-induced, consciousness-expansion) experiences, a preliminary study was conducted to explore the effects of psychedelic agents (LSD-25, mescaline) on creative problem-solving ability. Twenty-seven professionally employed males were given a single psychedelic experience in 1 of 7 small groups (ns = 3 or 4) following extensive selection and preparatory procedures. This drug-induced problem-solving session was carefully structured with particular focus on establishing Ss’ expectancies and a psychosocial milieu conducive to creative activity. Tentative findings based on tests of creativity, on subjective reports and self ratings, and on the utility of problem solutions suggested that, if given according to this carefully structured regimen, psychedelic agents seem to facilitate creative problem-solving, particularly in the “illumination phase.” The results also suggest that various degrees of increased creative ability may continue for at least some weeks subsequent to a psychedelic problem-solving session.

Harman, W. W., McKim, R. H., Mogar, R. E., Fadiman, J., & Stolaroff, M. J. (1966). Psychedelic Agents in Creative Problem-Solving: A Pilot Study. Psychological Reports, 19, 211-227.
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7 May - Psychedelics, Nature & Mental Health with Sam Gandy

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