Simon Ruffell

University of Melbourne | MSD

Ayahuasca is a powerful psychoactive plant brew mix containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). It originates from certain communities within the Amazon basin and surrounding areas, where it’s used for ceremonial purposes. Westerners have begun entering such communities seeking alternative physical or psychological...

Background Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive plant-brew used traditionally for religious or ceremonial purposes. Its use has been rapidly spreading into the West accompanied by claims of its therapeutic ability to treat an extraordinarily broad range of physical and psychological conditions. Studies have begun investigating some of the pot...

Aims: This heuristic study reports observations on the phenomenology of ayahuasca experiences of nine foreign tourist participants of an ayahuasca retreat in Peru. Methods: Narrative interviews, reflecting individual experiences after ayahuasca “night ceremony,” have been analyzed by qualitative content analysis using a data-driven strategy in or...

Background: The potential benefits of ayahuasca on mental health conditions are well documented. This pilot study is the first to explore whether there is an association with ayahuasca use and reductions in inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, the core features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Methods: In this exploratory, observ...

Background: In the context of increasing scientific interest in the potential therapeutic use of psychedelic agents and their underlying psychotherapeutic mechanisms, we undertake the first detailed assessment of insights and life and lifestyle changes associated with ayahuasca consumption. Methods: An international cross-sectional study of ayahuas...

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant brew originating from the Amazon rainforest. It is formed from two basic components, the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and a plant containing the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT), usually Psychotria viridis. Here we review the history of ayahuasca and describe recent work on its pharmacology, phenomenological...

There is substantial contemporary interest in psychedelic agents as medicines for maladies of the mind. This follows research in the 1950s and 1960s exploring the use of LSD and other psychedelics to treat a range of psychiatric illnesses as well as addictions. This research was shut down after prohibition of these drugs; however, the last decade h...

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive Amazonian plant brew. It is usually made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine (Spruce ex Griseb. Morton, Malpighiaceae), which contains three primary harmala alkaloids, along with the leaves of Psychotria viridis (Ruiz et Pavon, Rubiaceae) in which the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is found. DMT-harmaloid con...

Background: Psilocybin is being studied for use in treatment-resistant depression. Methods: In this phase 2 double-blind trial, we randomly assigned adults with treatment-resistant depression to receive a single dose of a proprietary, synthetic formulation of psilocybin at a dose of 25 mg, 10 mg, or 1 mg (control), along with psychological suppo...

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant brew originating from the Amazon Rainforest. It is formed from two basic components, the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, and a plant containing the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT), usually Psychotria viridis. There has been a dramatic increase in interest surrounding ayahuasca since the turn of the millennium...

Psychedelics are a unique class of drug which commonly produce vivid hallucinations as well as profound psychological and mystical experiences. A grouping of interconnected brain regions characterised by increased temporal coherence at rest have been termed the 'Default Mode Network' (DMN). The DMN has been the focus of numerous studies assessing i...

Indigenous Amazonian shamanic ayahuasca practice is deeply rooted in nature and it is employed as an ecological mediating agent and in collective environmental decision-making processes by some of the groups that use it. Phenomenologically, the ayahuasca experience is often rich in nature-based themes and content, and its usage has been associated...

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive Amazonian plant brew. It is usually made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, which contains three primary harmala alkaloids, along with the leaves of Psychotria viridis in which the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is found. DMT-harmaloid concoctions have gained popularity in recent years, due to growing anecd...

Ayahuasca is a natural psychoactive brew, used in traditional ceremonies in the Amazon basin. Recent research has indicated that ayahuasca is pharmacologically safe and its use may be positively associated with improvements in psychiatric symptoms. The mechanistic effects of ayahuasca are yet to be fully established. In this prospective naturalisti...

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant brew containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). It originates from the Amazon basin, where it is used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Ayahuasca tourists are now entering certain communities seeking alternative physical or psychological healing, as well as spiritual growth.Ratio...

Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive plant brew used as traditional medicine in spiritual and in cultural rituals. This is a review of the current understanding about the pharmacological mechanisms that may be interacting in ayahuasca. Searches were performed using PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases and 16 papers were selected. As...

Objective This study reports the phenomenology of subjectively relevant experiences of 9 foreign tourist participants in an ayahuasca ceremony in the upper Amazonas region of Peru. This took place within a typical 13-day-ayahuasca retreat in a touristic healing centre in the rain forest. Methods Each participant underwent a narrative intervie...

Background: The Gulu-Sheffield partnership started in 2012 with reciprocal visits between mental health staff. It was initially identified that acutely disturbed behaviour was being managed with high, potentially unsafe levels of medications on the psychiatric wards of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH). There was also a lack of physical health...

Our patient is a 58-year-old Ugandan woman. After her husband’s death in 1994, the patient was forced to leave her home by her late husband’s family and arrangements were made for her mother to provide care until her inevitable death. The patient suffered from multiple mental health disturbances as a result of discrimination. Socially isolated afte...

All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form a thttp://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work [or describe if any]; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work...