Extended INSIGHT: Ayahuasca-Analogues in Healthy Humans

The next upcoming webinar as part of our Extended INSIGHT Series is on May 3^rd. Join us for an enlightening discussion on the ayahuasca-analogues in healthy humans, delving into research on the changes in rates of empathy, prosociality and self-referential information processing following an ayahuasca experience. Given by Helena Aicher, M. Sc. the talk will present the findings of a research project where a serotonergic psychedelic ayahuasca-analog containing DMT (dimethyltryptamine) and harmine was administered to healthy subjects in a controlled study setting. Serotonergic psychedelic substances are known to profoundly change affective and cognitive information processing. Several electroencephalography-paradigms and behavioral tasks were applied to investigate different aspects of self-referential information processing, empathy & prosociality. Psychometric measures complemented the study design. Integrated within a theoretical and practical background, the study design and methods will be presented, complemented by the discussion of preliminary results of the study.

The research project contributes fundamentally to the understanding of the serotonergic mechanisms of action underlying self-referential information processing, empathy & prosocial behavior. The results will have implications for the further development of pharmacologically supported psychotherapeutic treatments for patients with impairments in self-referential and emotion processing.

Join us for an interesting discussion about the methods and concepts of this study and its implications and further research questions.