Blood chemistry, brain networks and the ayahuasca experience in 20 ceremonial users

The question

Can changes in blood chemistry, brain network activity and brain chemistry be linked to what people actually experience during an ayahuasca session?

What they did

Researchers studied 20 experienced ceremonial ayahuasca users. Each person served as their own comparison, with measurements taken before and during the effects. The team collected blood samples to measure the brew’s active compounds (DMT and beta-carboline alkaloids) and a wide panel of metabolites, took resting-state brain scans (fMRI) to map network connections, used a second scan technique (MRS) to measure chemistry in one brain region, and asked participants to rate their experience on a standard altered-states questionnaire. Statistical methods were then used to look for patterns linking these four layers of data.

What they found

Experience ratings for oceanic boundlessness (a sense of merging or unity), visionary restructuralization (visual imagery and altered meaning) and auditory alterations varied together with blood levels of DMT and beta-carbolines. These same experiences were linked to shifts in fat (lipid), amino acid and energy metabolism, and to reorganization of connections in the dorsal attention network and the default mode network, a set of brain regions tied to self-referential thought. The brain network features shared across experience types were most strongly associated with lipid messengers related to the endocannabinoid system. A further analysis showed structured overlap between blood metabolites, chemistry in the posterior cingulate cortex and default mode network connectivity.

The fine print

This was a small study of 20 self-selected, experienced ceremonial users, so the findings may not apply to other people or settings. There was no placebo or control group and no blinding, so effects of expectation and the ceremonial context cannot be separated out. The analysis looked for correlations across many measures at once, which can produce chance patterns that need replication. No clinical or mental health outcomes were reported, and this summary is based on the abstract only.

What it means

The study suggests that the ayahuasca experience involves coordinated changes in body metabolism as well as brain networks, not just serotonin signalling alone. It is early mechanistic work that generates hypotheses rather than evidence of any therapeutic benefit.

Evidence grade: Very low. A small, uncontrolled within-person study of 20 people using exploratory statistical modelling, with no placebo or comparison group.

This summary is based on the study’s published abstract.