A narrative review of the pharmacological, cultural and psychological literature on ibogaine

Ibogaine, a psychoactive alkaloid from the West African plant Tabernanthe iboga, shows preliminary evidence of effectiveness for treating substance use disorders, particularly opioid use disorder. This narrative review examines pharmacological, cultural, and psychological aspects of ibogaine that may contribute to its reputed effectiveness, focusing on the ibogaine state of consciousness. While exact pharmacological mechanisms remain speculative, the literature highlights ibogaine's role as an NMDA antagonist. Cultural aspects raise questions about participants' worldviews in traditional and Western contexts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid contained in the West African plant Tabernanthe iboga. Although preliminary, evidence suggests that ibogaine could be effective in the treatment of certain substance use disorders, specifically opioid use disorder. This narrative review concentrated on the pharmacological, cultural and psychological aspects of ibogaine that contribute to its reputed effectiveness with a specific focus on the ibogaine state of consciousness. Although the exact pharmacological mechanisms for ibogaine are still speculative, the literature highlighted its role as an NMDA antagonist in the effective treatment of substance use disorders. The cultural aspects associated with the use of ibogaine pose questions around the worldview of participants as experienced in the traditional and western contexts, which future research should clarify. From a psychological perspective, the theory that the ibogaine state of consciousness resembles REM sleep is questionable due to evidence that indicated ibogaine supressed REM sleep, and contradictory evidence in relation to learning and memory. The suggested classification of the ibogaine experience as oneirophrenic also seems inadequate as it only describes the first phase of the ibogaine experience. The ibogaine experience does however present characteristics consistent with holotropic states of consciousness, and future research could focus on exploring and potentially classifying the state of consciousness induced by ibogaine as holotropic