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Effects of Ayahuasca on psychometric panic measures, anxiety and desperation.


Web link: www.rau2.ufscar.br/index.php...

Pages: 139 - 143

Abstract

Ayahuasca is used as a sacrament of religions such as Santo Daime, the Vegetable Union and its dissence. In these contexts, it is generally prepared using pieces of Banisteriopsis caapi and leaves of Psychotria viridis, with its main alkaloids beta-carbolines harmine, tetrahydroharmine (THH) and harmaline and dimethyltriptamine (DMT) (Callaway, 2005; Callaway et al.,2005). It is well established that symptoms related to anxiety, panic and depression are significantly mitigated by serotoninergic agonists as inhibitors of serotonin and MAO-A recapitation recapitation and MAO-A (Wikinski, 2004; Nash & Nutt, 2005; Starcevic, 2006). The fact that alkaloids present in ayahuasca inhibit the recapitation of serotonin (THH) and MAO-A (harmine, THH and harmaline) (McKenna, 2004) and engage in direct serotonin agonist activity (DMT) (Smith et al., 1998) suggests that ayahuasca can mitigate emotional states regulated by the serotoninergic system. Previous studies suggest that ayahuasca plays therapeutic role in cases of depression and anxiety (Grob et al., 2004).