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Previous issue date: 2012-05-25 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / Ayahuasca is psychotropic beverage that has been used for ages by indigenous populations in South America, notably in the Amazon region, for religious and medicinal purposes. The tea is obtained by the decoction of leaves from the Psychotria viridis with the bark and stalk of a shrub, the Banisteriopsis caapi. The first is rich in N-N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which has an important and well-known hallucinogenic effect due to its agonistic action in serotonin receptors, specifically 5-HT2A. On the other hand, β-carbolines present in B. caapi, particularly harmine and harmaline, are potent monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi). In addition, the tetrahydroharmine (THH), also present in B. caapi, acts as mild selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a weak MAOi. This unique composition induces a number of affective, sensitive, perceptual and cognitive changes in individuals under the effect of Ayahuasca. On the other hand, there is growing interest in the Default Mode Network (DMN), which has been consistently observed in functional neuroimaging studies. The key components of this network include structures in the brain midline, as the anterior medial frontal cortex, ventral medial frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and some regions within the inferior parietal lobe and middle temporal gyrus. It has been argued that DMN participate in tasks involving self-judgments, autobiographical memory retrieval, mental simulations, thinking in perspective, meditative states, and others. In general, these tasks require an internal focus of attention, hence the conclusion that the DMN is associated with introspective mental activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) changes in DMN caused via the ingestion of Ayahuasca by 10 healthy subjects while submitted to two fMRI protocols: a verbal fluency task and a resting state acquisition. In general, it was observed that Ayahuasca causes a reduction in the fMRI signal in central nodes of DMN, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and inferior parietal lobe. Furthermore, changes in connectivity patterns of the DMN were observed, especially a decrease in the functional connectivity of the precuneus. Together, these findings indicate an association between the altered state of consciousness experienced by individuals under the effect of Ayahuasca, and changes in the stream of spontaneous thoughts leading to an increased introspective mental activity / A Ayahusca ? uma bebida psicotr?pica que tem sido utilizada h? s?culos por popula??es originais da Am?rica do Sul, notadamente da regi?o Amaz?nica, com fins religiosos e medicinais. O ch? ? obtido pela decoc??o de folhas da Psychotria viridis com a casca e tronco de um arbusto, a Banisteriopsis caapi. A primeira ? rica em N,N-dimetiltriptamina (DMT), que tem importante e bem conhecido efeito alucin?geno devido a sua atua??o agonista nos receptores de serotonina, especificamente 5-HT2A. Por outro lado, as β-carbolinas presentes na B. caapi, particularmente a harmina e a harmalina, s?o potentes inibidores da monoamina oxidase (iMAO). Al?m disso, a tetrahidroharmina (THH), tamb?m presente na B. caapi, atua como leve inibidor seletivo da recapta??o de serotonina e um fraco inibidor de MAO. Essa composi??o ?nica provoca uma s?rie de altera??es afetivas, sensoriais, perceptuais e cognitivas em indiv?duos sob o efeito da Ayahuasca. Por outro lado, existe um interesse crescente na rede de modo padr?o, do ingl?s Default Mode Network (DMN), que tem sido consistentemente observada em estudos de neuroimagem funcional. As principais componentes dessa rede incluem estruturas da linha m?dia do c?rtex cerebral, como o c?rtex frontomedial anterior, c?rtex frontomedial ventral, o giro cingulado posterior, o pr?-cuneus e algumas regi?es do lobo parietal inferior e do giro temporal m?dio. Acredita-se que a DMN participe de tarefas que envolvem autojulgamentos, evoca??o de mem?rias autobiogr?ficas, realiza??o de simula??es mentais, pensar em perspectiva, estados meditativos, entre outros. De maneira geral, essas tarefas requerem um foco de aten??o interno, da? a conclus?o de que a DMN estaria associada ? atividade mental introspectiva. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar, por meio de resson?ncia magn?tica funcional (fMRI), as poss?veis mudan?as da DMN causadas pela ingest?o da Ayahuasca em 10 volunt?rios saud?veis investigados enquanto se submeteram a dois protocolos: uma tarefa de flu?ncia verbal e a aquisi??o de dados cont?nuos durante estado de repouso. De maneira geral, observa-se que a Ayahuasca provoca redu??o na amplitude do sinal de fMRI nos nodos centrais da DMN, tais como o c?ngulo anterior, o c?rtex pr?-frontal medial, o c?ngulo posterior, o pr?-cuneus e o lobo parietal inferior. Al?m disso, tamb?m foram observadas altera??es no padr?o de conectividade da DMN, em particular, diminui??o da conectividade funcional no pr?-cuneus. Juntos, esses achados indicam a poss?vel associa??o entre o estado alterado de consci?ncia experimentado pelos indiv?duos sob efeito da Ayahuasca, e mudan?as no fluxo de pensamentos espont?neos ligados ao aumento da introspec??o
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IBICT/oai:repositorio.ufrn.br:123456789/17020 |
Date | 25 May 2012 |
Creators | Fontes, Fernanda Palhano Xavier de |
Contributors | CPF:50554310163, http://lattes.cnpq.br/7818012155694188, Ribeiro, Sidarta Tollendal Gomes, CPF:50591797100, http://lattes.cnpq.br/0649912135067700, Amaro J?nior, Edson, CPF:17439806808, http://lattes.cnpq.br/5927371795409877, Ara?jo, Dr?ulio Barros de |
Publisher | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Neurociencias, UFRN, BR, Neurobiologia Celular e Molecular; Neurobiologia de Sistemas e Cogni??o; Neurocomputa??o Neuroengen |
Source Sets | IBICT Brazilian ETDs |
Language | Portuguese |
Detected Language | English |
Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFRN, instname:Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, instacron:UFRN |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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