Lucas Oliveira Maia- PhD
- PostDoc Position at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
Lucas Oliveira Maia
- PhD
- PostDoc Position at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
About
37
Publications
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Introduction
Lucas Maia, PhD, is a psychobiologist with a background in psychopharmacology and mental health. His work focuses on the therapeutic effects of psychoactive plants and substances, particularly psychedelics, in treating psychiatric disorders and alleviating existential suffering. He is actively involved in preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological research, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
May 2022 - present
March 2016 - April 2020
February 2013 - January 2016
Publications
Publications (37)
This study is a survey-type, cross-sectional study conducted in Brazil (n = 517), with online data collection taking place from April to June 2022. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the death anxiety in users and non-users of psychedelics. To this end, we also assessed the validity and reliability of the Death Anxiety Scale in Brazil...
The therapeutic potential of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca has been investigated in preclinical and clinical studies. Currently, the most consistent evidence refers to depression. However, various studies suggest that ayahuasca may comprise therapeutic benefits in other health conditions. This narrative review provides a comprehensive, up-to-date...
Diseases that threaten life raise existential questions that can be a source of psychological distress. Studies with psychedelics demonstrate therapeutic effects for anxiety and depression associated with life-threatening illnesses. Ayahuasca has been proposed as a possible therapeutic agent in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Preliminary st...
Rationale
Smoking-related disease is a major problem globally. Effective smoking cessation treatments are however limited. Increasing evidence suggests that psychedelics have potential as treatments for substance use disorders and may therefore prove an option in aiding smoking cessation.
Objectives
To establish which factors predict smoking cessa...
Context
People affected by serious illness usually experience suffering in its various dimensions, not only in the physical but also in the psychosocial and spiritual aspects. The interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies as a potential new therapeutic modality has increased since evidence suggests a significant impact of their use on the outcomes...
The scientific community's interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) as a potential new therapeutic modality is growing, as evidence suggests that their use has a significant impact on the outcomes of patients with various conditions, including those with serious illnesses. In the context of PAT, the interpersonal bond established between pa...
The fields of palliative and holistic Nursing are dedicated to providing comprehensive care for the person, emphasizing special attention to the existential and spiritual aspects of care. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising approach for symptom management in individuals with serious illnesses, particularly those of existential a...
A growing body of clinical trials has presented compelling evidence for psychedelic therapy's therapeutic potential (Mitchell and Anderson, 2023), including psilocybin therapy for major depressive disorder (e.g., Raison et al., 2023; for a meta-analysis, see Perez et al., 2023) and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (e.g....
This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) in a Brazilian sample. We analyzed spiritual well-being, defined as existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB), among individuals with varying religious and spiritual experiences, both users and non-users of psychedelics. The online cross-sect...
The study of the coping strategies used by humans to cope with their finitude has been the center of attention of several researchers throughout the history of psychology. The present study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Death Transcendence Scale (DTS) for the Brazilian context. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample...
Rationale:
The psychedelic brew ayahuasca is increasingly being investigated for its therapeutic potential. Animal models are essential to investigate the pharmacological effects of ayahuasca since they can control factors influencing it, such as the set and setting.
Objective:
To review and summarise data available on ayahuasca research using a...
The psychedelic brew ayahuasca is increasingly being investigated for its therapeutic potential. To review and summarize data available on ayahuasca research using animal models, we systematically searched five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, LILACS and PsycInfo) for peer-reviewed studies in English, Portuguese or Spanish up to July 2022...
RationaleStream of thought describes the nature of the mind when it is freely roaming, a mental state that is continuous and highly dynamic as in mind-wandering or free association. Classic serotonergic psychedelics are known to profoundly impact perception, cognition and language, yet their influence on the stream of thought remains largely unexpl...
Rationale
The growing prevalence of psychostimulant (including amphetamine) use and associated health harms, with limited treatment options, present a global challenge. There is an increasing availability and medical applications of cannabinoids, and growing interest in their therapeutic potential for addictive disorders.
Objectives
The objective...
Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that long-term ayahuasca use is associated with better psychosocial outcomes and less drug use; however, available data on the association between ayahuasca intake frequency and psychosocial outcomes is limited. Objectives: We sought to characterize and investigate the association of regular ayahuasca use,...
Data on cannabis use patterns and health outcome indicators for Brazil are limited. We undertook a cross-sectional internet-based survey assessing socio-demographics, cannabis use frequency, other drug use, quality-of-life (QOL), affective states (i.e. anxiety and depression), and cannabis use disorder among adult respondents in Brazil. A multinomi...
Psychedelics acutely impair cognitive functions, but these impairments decline with growing experiences with psychedelics and microdoses may even exert opposing effects. Given the recent evidence that psychedelics induce neuroplasticity, this explorative study aimed at investigating the potential of psychedelics to sub-acutely change cognition. For...
Background:
Controversy surrounds psychedelics and their potential to boost creativity. To date, psychedelic studies lack a uniform conceptualization of creativity and methodologically rigorous designs.
Aims:
This study aimed at addressing previous issues by examining the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on creativity using multimodal...
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive beverage prepared from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, is originally used by Amazon-based indigenous and mestizo groups for medicinal and ritualistic purposes. Nowadays, ayahuasca is used in religious and shamanic contexts worldwide, and preliminary evidence from preclinical and...
Cocaine use entails severe health-and social-related harms globally. Treatment options for cocaine dependence are highly limited. Benefits of cannabinoids for addiction have been documented , making it opportune to examine existing data on the possible outcomes associated with cannabinoids and cocaine co-use. We conducted a systematic scoping revie...
Background
Global opioid consumption increased multifold post-2000, disproportionately in high-income countries, with severe mortality/morbidity consequences. Latin America features comparatively low opioid availability; Brazil, the region’s most populous country, makes an interesting case study concerning opioid use/harms. In this comprehensive ov...
Introdução: Doenças graves levantam questões existenciais que podem ser fonte de sofrimento psicológico e prejudicar o tratamento. Estudos com substâncias psicodélicas demonstram efeitos terapêuticos para ansiedade e depressão associadas a doenças físicas graves, principalmente câncer. Evidências indicam que a ayahuasca – uma bebida psicoativa de o...
This chapter aimed to provide an overview of the large number of hallucinogens of natural origin. Following a literature review, the following hallucinogens were selected for a detailed description that considered their essential chemical groups: indoleamines (N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, bufotenine, psilocybin, and ibo...
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of an extract from the leaves of Cheiloclinium cognatum mainly comprising triterpenes and friedelanes on the reproductive system of adult male rats in order to determine its potential contraceptive actions. The animals were distributed in two groups (n = 10/group): animals treated daily for 35 day...
Background and Objectives
Studies have highlighted psychosocial factors associated with drug use among adolescents. Association of specific psychiatric comorbidity with substance use has not been properly established in Brazil. This study aimed to investigate alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use by 15-18-year-old high school Brazilian students and t...
This chapter aimed to provide an overview of the large number of hallucinogens of natural origin. Following a literature review, the following hallucinogens were selected for a detailed description that considered their essential chemical groups: indoleamines (N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, bufotenine, psilocybin, and ibo...
Unlabelled:
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main components of Cannabis sativa and has a wide spectrum of action, including effects in the sleep-wake cycle.
Objective:
The objective of this paper is to assess the effects on sleep of acute systemic administration of CBD.
Method:
Adult male Wistar rats were randomly distributed into four groups...
Background & objectives:
Sleep restriction is a common feature of modern lifestyle and its effects can be extended to pregnancy. Several neurobehavioural consequences of sleep restriction during pregnancy have been reported, among which stand out perinatal depression and maternal fatigue, however, its effects over mother-infant relationship warrant...
Anais do "Simpósio Internacional: Por uma Agência Brasileira da Cannabis Medicinal?", evento realizado em maio de 2010 pelo Centro Brasileiro de Informações sobre Drogas Psicotrópicas (CEBRID), na Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP).
This study investigated the effects of organophosphate exposure on the male reproductive system of mice submitted to chronic sleep loss condition. Adult Swiss mice were distributed into 4 groups: control; methamidophos (MTP); sleep restriction (SR); and MTP+SR. The dose of methamidophos was 0.002 mgkg(-1)day(-1) (half of the Acceptable Daily Intake...
Objectives: Given the challenges arising from the poor effectiveness of therapies for Cannabis-related disorders, the most commonly used illicit drug in the world, this paper aims to review the present knowledge about the neuroanatomic, biomolecular and cellular substrate of the endocannabinoid system, describing the mechanisms of cannabinoid-depen...
