Single Ayahuasca administration attenuates alcohol relapse and associated behavioral, neurochemical, and oxidative alterations in rats
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry July 1, 2026 Guilherme Lodetti, Rafael Mariano de Bitencourt, Antonio Inserra et al.
A single dose of Ayahuasca reduced relapse-like alcohol drinking in alcohol-dependent rats, with effects varying by sex and alcohol concentration. It also lessened anxiety- and depression-like behaviors caused by alcohol withdrawal, increased dopamine in the striatum of both male and female rats, and restored serotonin levels in the cortex primarily in males. Ayahuasca partially reversed alcohol-related drops in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and reduced markers of oxidative stress in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. However, antioxidant enzyme activities were not consistently altered, and some neurochemical and oxidative stress measures showed only partial normalization. The findings suggest Ayahuasca modulates multiple neurobiological pathways disrupted by chronic alcohol exposure, with region- and sex-dependent effects.