PMID- 12474114
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20030320
LR  - 20151119
IS  - 0033-3158 (Print)
IS  - 0033-3158 (Linking)
VI  - 165
IP  - 1
DP  - 2002 Dec
TI  - Effects of ayahuasca on sensory and sensorimotor gating in humans as measured by 
      P50 suppression and prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex, respectively.
PG  - 18-28
AB  - RATIONALE: Ayahuasca, a South American psychotropic plant tea, combines the 
      psychedelic agent and 5-HT(2A/2C) agonist N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with 
      beta-carboline alkaloids showing monoamine oxidase-inhibiting properties. Current 
      human research with psychedelics and entactogens has explored the possibility 
      that drugs displaying agonist activity at the 5-HT(2A/2C) sites temporally 
      disrupt inhibitory neural mechanisms thought to intervene in the normal filtering 
      of information. Suppression of the P50 auditory evoked potential (AEP) and 
      prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) are considered operational measures of 
      sensory (P50 suppression) and sensorimotor (PPI) gating. Contrary to findings in 
      lower animals, unexpected increases in sensorimotor gating have been found in 
      humans following the administration of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin 
      and the serotonin releaser 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). In addition, 
      to our knowledge P50 suppression has not been assessed previously in humans 
      following the administration of a 5-HT(2A/2C) agonist. OBJECTIVES: To assess the 
      effects of the acute administration of ayahuasca on P50 suppression and PPI in 
      humans, in order to evaluate the drug's modulatory actions on these measures of 
      sensory and sensorimotor gating. METHODS: Eighteen healthy volunteers with prior 
      experience of psychedelic drug use participated in a clinical trial in which 
      placebo or ayahuasca doses (0.6 mg and 0.85 mg DMT/kg body weight) were 
      administered according to a double-blind, cross-over balanced design. P50 and 
      startle reflex (pulse-alone and 60 ms, 120 ms, 240 ms and 2000 ms 
      prepulse-to-pulse intervals) recordings were undertaken at 1.5 h and 2 h after 
      drug intake, respectively. RESULTS: Ayahuasca produced diverging effects on each 
      of the two gating measures evaluated. Whereas significant dose-dependent 
      reductions of P50 suppression were observed after ayahuasca, no significant 
      effects were found on the startle response, its habituation rate, or on PPI at 
      any of the prepulse-to-pulse intervals studied. CONCLUSION: The present findings 
      indicate, at the doses tested, a decremental effect of ayahuasca on sensory 
      gating, as measured by P50 suppression, and no distinct effects on sensorimotor 
      gating, as measured by PPI.
FAU - Riba, Jordi
AU  - Riba J
AD  - Area dInvestigacio Farmacologica, Institut de Recerca, Hospital de la Santa Creu 
      i Sant Pau (HSCSP), Departament de Farmacologia i Terapeutica, Universitat 
      Autonoma de Barcelona, St. Antoni Maria Claret, Spain.
FAU - Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni
AU  - Rodriguez-Fornells A
FAU - Barbanoj, Manel J
AU  - Barbanoj MJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Clinical Trial
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Controlled Clinical Trial
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20021012
PL  - Germany
TA  - Psychopharmacology (Berl)
JT  - Psychopharmacology
JID - 7608025
RN  - 0 (Plant Extracts)
RN  - 0 (Psychotropic Drugs)
SB  - IM
MH  - Acoustic Stimulation
MH  - Adult
MH  - Analysis of Variance
MH  - Banisteriopsis
MH  - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
MH  - Double-Blind Method
MH  - Evoked Potentials, Auditory/*drug effects/physiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Habituation, Psychophysiologic/drug effects/physiology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Neural Inhibition/drug effects/physiology
MH  - Plant Extracts/pharmacology
MH  - Plants, Medicinal/*chemistry
MH  - Psychomotor Performance/drug effects/physiology
MH  - Psychotropic Drugs/*pharmacology
MH  - Reflex, Startle/*drug effects/physiology
MH  - Sensory Thresholds/*drug effects/physiology
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
EDAT- 2002/12/11 04:00
MHDA- 2003/03/21 04:00
CRDT- 2002/12/11 04:00
PHST- 2002/01/02 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2002/07/15 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2002/12/11 04:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/03/21 04:00 [medline]
PHST- 2002/12/11 04:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1007/s00213-002-1237-5 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Dec;165(1):18-28. doi: 10.1007/s00213-002-1237-5. 
      Epub 2002 Oct 12.