Review of the pharmacological, cultural and psychological literature on ibogaine
| a_review_of_the_pharmacological_cultural_and_psychological_literature_on_ibogaine_.pdf |
ABSTRACT
Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid contained in the West African plant Tabernanthe iboga. Although controversial, evidence suggests that ibogaine could be effective in the treatment of certain substance use disorders, specifically opioids. The review focused on the pharmacological, cultural and psychological aspects of ibogaine that contribute to its reputed effectiveness with specific on the ibogaine state of consciousness. Although the exact pharmacological mechanism for ibogaine is still speculative, the literature highlighted its role as an NMDA antagonist in the effective treatment of substance use disorders. The cultural aspects associated with the use of ibogaine presents questions around the world-view of participants as experienced in the traditional and western contexts, which future research could clarify. From a psychological perspective, the theory that the ibogaine state of consciousness resembles REM sleep is questionable due to evidence that indicated REM sleep suppression, and contradictory evidence in relation to learning and memory. The suggested classification of the ibogaine experience as oneirophrenic also seems inadequate as it only describes the first phase of the ibogaine experience, circumscribing the remaining two phases. The ibogaine experience does however present characteristics consistent with holotropic states of consciousness, and future research could focus on exploring and potentially classifying the state of consciousness induced by ibogaine as holotropic.
Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid contained in the West African plant Tabernanthe iboga. Although controversial, evidence suggests that ibogaine could be effective in the treatment of certain substance use disorders, specifically opioids. The review focused on the pharmacological, cultural and psychological aspects of ibogaine that contribute to its reputed effectiveness with specific on the ibogaine state of consciousness. Although the exact pharmacological mechanism for ibogaine is still speculative, the literature highlighted its role as an NMDA antagonist in the effective treatment of substance use disorders. The cultural aspects associated with the use of ibogaine presents questions around the world-view of participants as experienced in the traditional and western contexts, which future research could clarify. From a psychological perspective, the theory that the ibogaine state of consciousness resembles REM sleep is questionable due to evidence that indicated REM sleep suppression, and contradictory evidence in relation to learning and memory. The suggested classification of the ibogaine experience as oneirophrenic also seems inadequate as it only describes the first phase of the ibogaine experience, circumscribing the remaining two phases. The ibogaine experience does however present characteristics consistent with holotropic states of consciousness, and future research could focus on exploring and potentially classifying the state of consciousness induced by ibogaine as holotropic.