Ayahuasca in adolescence: a neuropsychological assessment.
Evelyn Doering-Silveira, Enrique Lopez, Charles S Grob, Marlene Dobkin De Rios, Luisa K Alonso, Cristiane Tacla, Itiro Shirakawa, Paulo H Bertolucci, Dartiu X Da Silveira
Journal of psychoactive drugs June 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2005.10399791 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAdolescents who use ayahuasca in a religious context show no significant differences in neuropsychological performance compared to matched controls. A battery of tests measuring speeded attention, visual search, sequencing, psychomotor speed, verbal and visual abilities, memory, and mental flexibility found no impairment among ayahuasca users. The groups were matched for sex, age, and education. Statistical comparisons using independent t-tests indicated no significant differences on any measure. The authors suggest further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adolescents who use ayahuasca in a religious context and matched controls |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Entheogens Plant medicine Hallucinogens |
| Citations | 70 |
| Key finding | No significant difference in neuropsychological measures between adolescent ayahuasca users and matched controls. |
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to evaluate neuropsychologically adolescents who use ayahuasca in a religious context. A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to adolescents who use ayahuasca. These subjects were compared to a matched control group of adolescents who did not use ayahuasca. The controls were matched with regards to sex, age, and education. The neuropsychological battery included tests of speeded attention, visual search, sequencing, psychomotor speed, verbal and visual abilities, memory, and mental flexibility. The statistical results for subjects from matched controls on neuropsychological measures were computed using independent t-tests. Overall, statistical findings suggested that there was no significant difference between the two groups on neuropsychological measures. Even though, the data overall supports that there was not a difference between ayahuasca users and matched controls on neuropsychological measures, further studies are necessary to support these findings.