Psychedelic drug ibogaine may treat PTSD by slowing brainwaves

Psychedelic ibogaine slows down the brain waves of people with brain trauma, which may explain why it attenuates the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (SSPT).

Last year, a study revealed that ibogaine – a psychedelic substance derived from the African plant of Iboga – considerably improved mental and physical health in military veterans suffering from traumatic brain lesions. But it was not clear how the drug produced these effects.

Thus, Jennifer Smalemore at the University of Stanford in California and her colleagues analyzed the brain analyzes of the 30 participants of the original study, who were all men of the United States. Participants had received ibogaine in a dose of 12 milligrams per kilogram of body weight during a five -day stay in a treatment center in Mexico. They also saw a therapist before and after to prepare and discuss their psychedelic treatment, and they had access to activities such as yoga, massage and meditation.

Throughout the original study, the researchers have taken electroencephalogram recordings (EEG) – which measure electrical activity in the brain – participants. These analyzes were collected by two to three days before Ibogaine therapy, 3.5 days later and another month later.

By comparing these results EEG, Selfmore and his colleagues found that in average, faster brain waves decreased in force after the therapy by ibogaine, while the slowest did the opposite. For example, a few days after taking ibogaine, the strength of gamma waves – the fastest brain wave type – dropped by almost 16%, on average, in brain regions at the back of the head. These waves increased slightly in intensity a month later, but were still significantly lower than those before the participants took ibogaine.

Meanwhile, the intensity of the slower TheTA waves increased by almost 17% at the back of the brain and 13% at the front of the brain 3.5 days after taking ibogaine. However, this difference was no longer significant a month later.

Faremore thinks that the slowdown in brain waves can explain why ibogaine has reduced SSPT symptoms for the majority of participants. “The slowdown in brain activity went hand in hand with patients who had trouble with symptoms of hyperarou, hypervigilance and sspt,” she said. “These symptoms have been considerably improved, and therefore a way of thinking about this slowdown in brain activity is [as] A decrease in this hyperarousal which is a problem in the SSPT. »»

The temporary increase in the slower theta waves also suggests that ibogaine induces neuroplasticity, or the capacity of the brain to reclassify. Previous studies in rodents have linked theta waves to plasticity in the brain, explains Fantmore. By inducing short-term increases in theta waves, ibogaine can allow the brain to reshape itself in a way that improves mental health, she says.

“Ibogaine mainly targets this very disorderly and agitated brain and allows it to normalize,” explains Conor Murray at the University of California in Los Angeles. “He finally gave [participants] A feeling of peace of mind, in terms of making their brain comfortable. »»

However, these results still do not tell us how, exactly, ibogaine induces these changes in the brain, he notes.

Another problem is that the absence of a control group makes it impossible to disentangle the influence of other aspects of treatment, such as therapy, explains Selfmore. But these results are always “an important first step to understand why this treatment could be so effective,” she said.