Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in College Students With Harmful Alcohol Use: A Single-blind, Feasibility, Proof-of-Concept Trial
In a single-blind proof-of-concept trial in 11 college students with harmful alcohol use, one dose of ayahuasca with psychological support was well tolerated and produced a short-term reduction in days drinking at 2–3 weeks that did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. The study demonstrates feasibility of the protocol and supports larger, controlled trials to assess efficacy.
Authors
- Jamie Hallak
- Rafael dos Santos
- Guilherme Rossi
Published
Abstract
Background
Ayahuasca is a South American plant hallucinogen rich in the psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine and β-carbolines (mainly harmine). Preclinical and observational studies suggest that ayahuasca exerts beneficial effects in substance use disorders, but these potentials were never assessed in a clinical trial.
Methods
Single-center, single-blind, feasibility, proof-of-concept study, assessing the effects of one dose of ayahuasca accompanied by psychological support (without psychotherapy) on the drinking patterns (primary variable) of 11 college students with harmful alcohol consumption. Secondary variables included safety and tolerability, craving, personality, anxiety, impulsivity, self-esteem, and social cognition.
Findings
Ayahuasca was well tolerated (no serious adverse reactions were observed), while producing significant psychoactive effects. Significant reductions in days per week of alcohol consumption were found between weeks 2 and 3 (2.90 ± 0.28 vs 2.09 ± 0.41; P < 0.05, uncorrected), which were not statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. There were no statistically significant effects for other variables, except for a significant reduction in reaction time in an empathy task.
Conclusions
A significant reduction in days of alcohol consumption was observed 2–3 weeks after ayahuasca intake, but this effect did not survive after Bonferroni correction. The lack of significant effects in alcohol use and other variables may be related to the small sample size and mild/moderate alcohol use at baseline. The present study shows the feasibility of our protocol, paving the way for future larger, controlled studies.
Research Summary of 'Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in College Students With Harmful Alcohol Use: A Single-blind, Feasibility, Proof-of-Concept Trial'
Introduction
This paper reports a single-case clinical account of a highly experienced intensive care paramedic (Mr T.) who developed chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after decades of front-line emergency work. Earlier research and clinical practice on PTSD support trauma-focused therapies such as prolonged exposure therapy (PET) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), and the authors describe a bespoke visual-mapping psychotherapeutic approach called Structured Image Framework Theory (SIFT) used to help patients conceptualise traumatic memory processing. The extracted text frames Mr T.'s case as an illustration of how preparatory psychotherapeutic work can interact with an acute pharmacological experience to produce rapid and sustained clinical change. The report sets out to document Mr T.'s clinical history, the therapeutic interventions delivered before his emergency hospital admission, the phenomenology of his ketamine-facilitated cardioversion for rapid atrial fibrillation, and subsequent changes in PTSD, anxiety and depressive symptoms monitored with self-report and clinician-rated instruments. The authors aim to explore possible mechanisms linking the one-off 80 mg intravenous ketamine administration (delivered to support cardioversion) and the immediate cardioversion shocks with the abrupt and apparently durable reduction in his trauma-related symptoms, and to suggest hypotheses for further research and clinical protocols.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compounds
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Rodrigues, L. S., Reis, J. A. S., Rossi, G. N., Guerra, L. T. L., Maekawa, R. M., de Lima Osório, F., Bouso, J. C., Santos, F. P., Paranhos, B. A. P. B., Yonamine, M., Hallak, J. E. C., & dos Santos, R. G. (2024). Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in College Students With Harmful Alcohol Use: A Single-blind, Feasibility, Proof-of-Concept Trial. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 44(4), 402-406. https://doi.org/10.1097/jcp.0000000000001872
References (6)
Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
Abdallah, C. G., Averill, L. A., Collins, K. A. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2016)
William Deakin, J. F., Lees, J., McKie, S. et al. · JAMA Psychiatry (2008)
Grimm, O., Gass, N., Weber-Fahr, W. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2015)
Nutt, D. J. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2015)
Lener, M. S., Niciu, M. J., Ballard, E. D. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2017)
Murrough, J. W., Collins, K. A., Fields, J. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2015)
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