Persisting effects of ayahuasca on empathy, creative thinking, decentering, personality, and well-being
In a naturalistic study of ayahuasca ceremony attendees, a single ingestion was associated with increases in cognitive and implicit emotional empathy, life satisfaction and decentering, and reduced trait neuroticism persisting up to one week, while divergent creative fluency decreased. These short-term changes suggest potential therapeutic relevance for stress-related psychopathology and warrant controlled clinical trials.
Authors
- Kim Kuypers
- Johannes Ramaekers
- Nathalie Mason
Published
Abstract
Background
Naturalistic and placebo-controlled studies have suggested that ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian beverage, could be helpful in the treatment of psychopathologies like depression and anxiety disorders by changing otherwise disturbed cognitive and emotional processes. To better understand its full therapeutic potential, one way is to study the effects on processes like flexible thinking, empathy, and well-being, which are normally compromised in stress-related psychopathologies.
Materials and Methods
Volunteers attending ayahuasca ceremonies were asked to complete a test battery at three separate occasions: baseline, the morning after, and 1 week after the ceremony. We included the constructs of creative thinking (measured by Picture Concept Test), empathy (Multifaceted Empathy Test), satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale), decentering (Experiences Questionnaire), and personality (Big Five Inventory) into the test battery. Additionally, the psychedelic experience was quantified with the Persisting Effects Questionnaire, the Ego Dissolution Scale, and Visual Analogue Scales.
Results
In total, 43 attendees (males = 22; females = 21) completed parts of the baseline assessment, 20 (males = 12; females = 8) completed assessments in the morning after the ceremony, and 19 (males = 14; females = 5) completed assessments at the 1-week follow-up. At one and 7 days post-ceremony, cognitive empathy, satisfaction with life, and decentering increased, while divergent thinking (Fluency corrected for Originality) decreased, when compared to baseline. Implicit emotional empathy increased at 1-week follow-up, whereas ratings of the trait neuroticism decreased.
Conclusion
The study suggests that a single ingestion of ayahuasca in a social setting is associated with enhancement of subjective well-being, an enhanced ability to take an objective and non-judging stance towards the self (decentering), and the ability to correctly recognize emotions in others, compared to baseline, lasting up to 1 week post-ceremony. To understand the therapeutic potential related to these effects, further research with clinical populations is needed in which these effects can be assessed, including its link with therapeutic outcomes. Together, this will increase our understanding of the effectiveness and breadth of future therapeutic options.
Research Summary of 'Persisting effects of ayahuasca on empathy, creative thinking, decentering, personality, and well-being'
Introduction
Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian psychoactive brew whose combination of Banisteriopsis caapi (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) and Psychotria viridis (DMT) produces robust psychedelic effects. Previous naturalistic and experimental studies have reported that ayahuasca can alter cognition and emotion and may ameliorate symptoms of stress-related psychopathologies. However, evidence remains limited and sometimes mixed regarding which cognitive and affective processes are affected and how long effects persist; in particular, findings on creative thinking, empathy, mindfulness-related capacities (such as decentering), personality traits, and subjective well-being are sparse or inconsistent. Kiraga and colleagues therefore carried out a naturalistic, observational study to characterise sub-acute (the morning after) and persisting (7 days after) changes following attendance at ayahuasca ceremonies. By administering a comprehensive test battery at baseline, within 24 hours, and at 1 week post-ceremony, the investigators aimed to distinguish direct and more enduring effects on flexible thinking (convergent and divergent creativity), cognitive and emotional empathy, decentering, life satisfaction, and personality, and to explore relationships between changes in empathy and well-being. The authors hypothesised post-ceremonial increases in creative and empathic abilities, greater life satisfaction and decentering, and potential personality changes such as increased openness and decreased neuroticism.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
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- APA Citation
Kiraga, M. K., Mason, N. L., Uthaug, M. V., van Oorsouw, K. I., Toennes, S. W., Ramaekers, J. G., & Kuypers, K. P. C. (2021). Persisting effects of ayahuasca on empathy, creative thinking, decentering, personality, and well-being. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.721537
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