Earlier this month at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelics Research 2016 in Amsterdam, Dr Jordi Riba from the San Pau Hospital in Barcelona presented the groundbreaking results of their latest research; the first study ever conducted that demonstrates that components of the traditional Ayahuasca brew possess potent neurogenic properties. The study was conducted within the framework of the Beckley/San Pau Research Programme and in collaborative effort with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). These findings have yet to be published.
The team consisted of CSIC researchers Jose Morales-Garcia, Maria Isabel Rodriguez-Franco, Ana Pérez-Castillo and Mario de la Fuente Revenga. They found that the alkaloids harmine and tetrahydroharmine, the most abundant alkaloids of the Ayahuasca brew, stimulate the growth and maturation of neurons and promotes their birth from the stem cells, a discovery that definitively squashes some of the time-worn preconceptions of the adult brain.
For years, it was believed that no new neurons are produced in the brain of an adult. It was not until the late 1990s that experimental evidence began challenging this preconception, demonstrating that the birth of new neurons, a process known as neurogenesis, occurs in two regions of the brain: the area surrounding the ventricles and in the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays a pivotal role in essential cognitive tasks such as learning and memory. The function of the hippocampus naturally declines throughout the aging process, even more so in those with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease and other dementias.
Although the results of this latest study are preliminary, they conclusively demonstrate that the addition of harmine and tetrahydroharmine to cultures of cells that contain neural stem cells dramatically increases the rate at which they differentiate and mature into neurons. Additional studies are now being devised and conducted in order to discern the magnitude of the initial results.
A successful replication of these findings in VIVO could open up an entirely new avenue of Ayahuasca research regarding its physiological and psychological interactions with the brain. “Potential applications would range from treating neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, to redressing brain damage associated with stroke or trauma,” says Amanda Feilding, co-director of the Beckley/Sant Pau Research Programme.
Below, Dr Jordi Riba explores these remarkable findings with the aid of stunning illustrations that demonstrate the neurogenesis observed during the administration of the harmine and tetrahydroharmine alkaloids.
Full article: http://timewheel.net/scientists-find-ayahuasca-stimulates-birth-new-brain-cells/
The team consisted of CSIC researchers Jose Morales-Garcia, Maria Isabel Rodriguez-Franco, Ana Pérez-Castillo and Mario de la Fuente Revenga. They found that the alkaloids harmine and tetrahydroharmine, the most abundant alkaloids of the Ayahuasca brew, stimulate the growth and maturation of neurons and promotes their birth from the stem cells, a discovery that definitively squashes some of the time-worn preconceptions of the adult brain.
For years, it was believed that no new neurons are produced in the brain of an adult. It was not until the late 1990s that experimental evidence began challenging this preconception, demonstrating that the birth of new neurons, a process known as neurogenesis, occurs in two regions of the brain: the area surrounding the ventricles and in the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays a pivotal role in essential cognitive tasks such as learning and memory. The function of the hippocampus naturally declines throughout the aging process, even more so in those with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease and other dementias.
Although the results of this latest study are preliminary, they conclusively demonstrate that the addition of harmine and tetrahydroharmine to cultures of cells that contain neural stem cells dramatically increases the rate at which they differentiate and mature into neurons. Additional studies are now being devised and conducted in order to discern the magnitude of the initial results.
A successful replication of these findings in VIVO could open up an entirely new avenue of Ayahuasca research regarding its physiological and psychological interactions with the brain. “Potential applications would range from treating neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, to redressing brain damage associated with stroke or trauma,” says Amanda Feilding, co-director of the Beckley/Sant Pau Research Programme.
Below, Dr Jordi Riba explores these remarkable findings with the aid of stunning illustrations that demonstrate the neurogenesis observed during the administration of the harmine and tetrahydroharmine alkaloids.
Full article: http://timewheel.net/scientists-find-ayahuasca-stimulates-birth-new-brain-cells/
