Ayahuasca Research Boosts Brazilian 'Psychedelic' Science
Ayahuasca Research Boosts Brazilian 'Psychedelic' Science
The drink, legalized in the country for use in religious rituals, creates an opportunity for local neuroscientists
Sep.14.2018 10:02AM
CAMPINAS
One of the few fields in neurosciences where Brazilian researchers have a competitive edge is psychedelic science, according to a meeting at Unicamp (Campinas University) on Thursday (13th). And the ayahuasca, a tea also known as Santo Daime, is central to this hope.
Around 120 people - many of them young men and women who partake in ayahuasca -- attended the forum "Psychedelic Drugs Neuroscience: A Revolution On Course".
"It's a huge opportunity [for Brazil]," said Sidarta Ribeiro, a neuroscientist at the Brain Institute in the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), one of the five panelists. "We need to do that before the Americans and the Chinese get ahead of us."
Psychedelic drugs - LSD, MDMA (the main ingredient of ecstasy), mescaline, psilocybin, etc. -- are defined as compounds that act on the receptors of serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for mood regulation, among other functions. Most of them are classified as substances of abuse, which makes them illegal and therefore difficult to procure as well as to obtain a research permit.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2018/09/ayahuasca-research-boosts-brazilian-psychedelic-science.shtml
Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122859608
