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Cited by 85Psychedelics and Drug StudiesPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionParanormal Experiences and Beliefs

Persisting effects of ayahuasca on empathy, creative thinking, decentering, personality, and well-being.

Open access
Kiraga, Maggie K., Mason, Natasha L., Uthaug, Malin V., van Oorsouw, Kim I.M., Toennes, Stefan W., Ramaekers, Johannes G., Kuypers, Kim P. C.·2021·Frontiers in Pharmacology
DOI 10.3389/fphar.2021.721537PMC PMC8517265
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Abstract

Background: Naturalistic and placebo-controlled studies have suggested that ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian beverage, could be helpful in the treatment of psychopathologies like depression and anxiety disorders by changing otherwise disturbed cognitive and emotional processes. To better understand its full therapeutic potential, one way is to study the effects on processes like flexible thinking, empathy, and well-being, which are normally compromised in stress-related psychopathologies. Materials and Methods: Volunteers attending ayahuasca ceremonies were asked to complete a test battery at three separate occasions: baseline, the morning after, and 1 week after the ceremony. We included the constructs of creative thinking (measured by Picture Concept Test), empathy (Multifaceted Empathy Test), satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale), decentering (Experiences Questionnaire), and personality (Big Five Inventory) into the test battery. Additionally, the psychedelic experience was quantified with the Persisting Effects Questionnaire, the Ego Dissolution Scale, and Visual Analogue Scales. Results: In total, 43 attendees (males = 22; females = 21) completed parts of the baseline assessment, 20 (males = 12; females = 8) completed assessments in the morning after the ceremony, and 19 (males = 14; females = 5) completed assessments at the 1-week follow-up. At one and 7 days post-ceremony, cognitive empathy, satisfaction with life, and decentering increased, while divergent thinking (Fluency corrected for Originality) decreased, when compared to baseline. Implicit emotional empathy increased at 1-week follow-up, whereas ratings of the trait neuroticism decreased. Conclusion: The study suggests that a single ingestion of ayahuasca in a social setting is associated with enhancement of subjective well-being, an enhanced ability to take an objective and non-judging stance towards the self (decentering), and the ability to correctly recognize emotions in others, compared to baseline, lasting up to 1 week post-ceremony. To understand the therapeutic potential related to these effects, further research with clinical populations is needed in which these effects can be assessed, including its link with therapeutic outcomes. Together, this will increase our understanding of the effectiveness and breadth of future therapeutic options.

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  • Ingestion of a psychedelic drug can induce rapid and persisting changes in personality traits, particularly reductions in neuroticism, in both healthy and clinical populations.

    “It has been repeatedly found that ingestion of a psychedelic drug can induce rapid and persisting changes in personality traits, and particularly reductions in neuroticism, in both healthy and clinical populations (24, 35–41).”

    From Decreases in State and Trait Anxiety Post-psilocybin: A Naturalistic, Observational Study Among Retreat Attendees (2022) · cites this paper as [39]

    The Big Five Inventory results (page unavailable) report significantly lower neuroticism one week after an ayahuasca ceremony, supporting a persisting personality change. However, personality was assessed only before the ceremony and at one week, so the paper does not establish a rapid change in personality; its participants were retreat volunteers, not an identified clinical population. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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1 of the 96 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Schmid J. T. (2012). The Myth of Ayahuasca. TYPES, EFFICACY AND MYTHS 127. https://www.academia.edu/download/36512865/978-1-61470-657-1_eBook_NOVA.pdf#page=139.
  2. Shanon B. (2002). The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience. Oxford University Press. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=rIhdbLq-Mc0C.

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Authors
Kiraga, M. K., Mason, N. L., Uthaug, M. V., van Oorsouw, K. I. M., Toennes, S. W., Ramaekers, J. G., & Kuypers, K. P. C.
Affiliations
  • Maastricht University (NL)
  • Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
Corresponding author
Kuypers, Kim P. C.
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Pharmacology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2021-10-01
Volume
12
Pages
721537-721537
ISSN
1663-9812 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fphar.2021.721537
PMC
PMC8517265
OpenAlex
W3202537739
Cited by
85
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 8
FWCI
10.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Pharmacology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
Keywords
ayahuasca, empathy, creative thinking, decentering, subjective well-being, personality, neuroticism, ego dissolution, divergent thinking, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, psychedelic therapy, ayahuasca ceremonies

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