INVITATION TO RESEARCHERS
Scientific Study:
The scientific study of Ayahuasca is still in its early stages. With the growing interest aroused by the potion, the emergence of new research is to be expected.
The initial anthropological studies, carried out among indigenous populations, have been practically completed. New studies are being conducted on the use of the plants in urban communities.
Biochemical studies are slowly unraveling the pharmacodynamics of the tea as well as the long-term effects of regular use — such as, for example, on serotonin receptors in various tissues. New knowledge about the presence of endogenous DMT in the CNS and its possible regulatory functions is to be expected.
Studies pertaining to the field of psychology can begin by elaborating the models already tested in the studies of the 1960s during investigation with other psychedelics such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. Countless models can be imagined making maximal use of the new technological resources of psycho-technology.
Still little is known about the effect of the plants themselves on the personality evolution of users. At least one study demonstrates positive effects, but does not differentiate the effect of the tea itself from the effect of the religious doctrine of the institution where the study was conducted.
It is not known whether the tea conditions a specific type of response and personality development. Comparative studies with data obtained in diverse ritualistic contexts would further elucidate the effects of the tea.
Studying personality changes by investigating people before their introduction to the use of the tea and after their participation in a significant number of ceremonies is already feasible within our society, where initiation ceremonies are planned in advance.
The connections between the special states of consciousness provided by the use of the tea and possible positive psychological and psychotherapeutic responses deserve to be better investigated.
The effect of the tea on thought, its flow, the type of associations and connections most frequently stimulated can be studied with appropriate investigative techniques (anamneses, test applications and problem solving).
It is widely known that the Ayahuasca phenomenon has contributed profoundly to the personal transformation and enrichment of thousands of people. The emergence of cultural movements around the use of Ayahuasca is undeniable. The nature, prevalence and phenomenology of these transformations need to be analyzed at various levels and from various viewpoints.
What can Ayahuasca teach and how does it teach? If Ayahuasca transforms, how do these transformations operate? How does the use of Ayahuasca modulate creative capacity? Does Ayahuasca modify the habitual style of information processing? How does Ayahuasca modify the various modalities of intelligence? These are some of the questions we need to ask and answer to better understand this potentially creative and transformational instrument.
The legality of the ritualistic use of Ayahuasca in Brazil, as well as the increase in the number of regular users, makes it possible to design countless potentially interesting research projects.
Experimenting with, appreciating, studying and guiding the expanded states of consciousness induced by Ayahuasca is part of the mission of our society. We are therefore seeking to contact collaborators with similar interests to develop and carry out research and scientific work together. This, then, is an invitation to interested researchers.