Psychedelic Research Papers

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ibogaine in opioid use disorder patients
This pharmacokinetic study (n=14) on ibogaine (700mg/70kg) for opioid use disorder (OUD) finds significant variability in ibogaine clearance, strongly correlated with CYP2D6 genotype. Ibogaine plasma concentrations correlate with QTc prolongation and cerebellar effects, while neither ibogaine nor noribogaine correlate with the severity of opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 2024
Cited by 0
Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries
This observational study (n=30) evaluates ibogaine (up to 980mg/70kg) in combination with magnesium (1-2 hours before and 12 hours later) in male Special Operations Forces veterans with predominantly mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The study assessed changes in disability, PTSD, depression, and anxiety immediately and one month after treatment using various scales. Results show significant improvements in functioning and psychological symptoms with no serious adverse events.
Nature Medicine
January 2024
Cited by 0
Main targets of ibogaine and noribogaine associated with its putative anti-addictive effects: A mechanistic overview
This review (2023) examines ibogaine as a potential treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). The lack of randomized, controlled studies on its safety and efficacy and the elusive mechanisms of action have been barriers to clinical use. The review suggests that ibogaine and its metabolite, noribogaine (NOR), modulate multiple targets associated with SUDs, emphasizing a complex, multi-target approach to understanding its pharmacology.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 2023
Cited by 0
Three Decades of Research on the Development of Ibogaine Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Scientometric Analysis
This review (2023) examines the interest in ibogaine's therapeutic potential for substance use disorders over three decades (1993–2022). The study identifies a linear growth of publications in the first and third decades, with academic research centers in the United States and Canada being the most productive. Major keywords shifted from cocaine, tobacco, morphine, and alcohol in the first two decades to opioids and psychedelics in the third decade, indicating evolving research trends.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
November 2023
Cited by 0
Open-label study of consecutive ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT assisted-therapy for trauma-exposed male Special Operations Forces Veterans
This open-label study (n=86) examined the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) among trauma-exposed Special Operations Forces Veterans (SOFV) in Mexico. Results indicated significant improvements in self-reported PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, insomnia severity, post-concussive symptoms, satisfaction with life, psychological flexibility, and cognitive functioning from baseline to one-month follow-up. The combination of ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT assisted therapy showed potential for providing rapid and lasting improvements in mental health functioning, with effects observed up to six months after treatment.
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
September 2023
Cited by 1
Predictors of psychedelic treatment outcomes among special operations forces veterans
This prospective study (n=86) examined the effects of ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT treatment on U.S. Special Operations Forces Veterans with trauma exposure. Younger age and higher baseline levels of depression and anxiety were correlated with significant improvements in mental and psychosocial outcomes from baseline to 1-month follow-up. Greater intensity of changes in consciousness was linked to improved long-term mental health and psychosocial outcomes up to 6 months post-treatment.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
September 2023
Cited by 0
Prospective associations of psychedelic treatment for co-occurring alcohol misuse and posttraumatic stress symptoms among United States Special Operations Forces Veterans
This prospective study (n=86) evaluated the effects of ibogaine & 5-MeO-DMT treatment on risky alcohol use & PTSD symptoms among US Special Operations Forces Veterans. It found a significant reduction in alcohol use from pre-treatment to 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months post-treatment, and large differences between responders and non-responders in PTSD symptom and cognitive functioning change, suggesting that psychedelic-assisted therapy may hold promise for individuals with complex trauma and alcohol misuse.
Military Medicine
February 2023
Cited by 0
Ibogaine – A legacy within the current renaissance of psychedelic therapy
This review (2023) gives an overview of research into ibogaine. It details animal studies and the human use of ibogaine in stopping addiction. Studies are few and far between, and clinical trials are only now being started.
Pharmacological Research
March 2023
Cited by 0
Underground ibogaine use for the treatment of substance use disorders: A qualitative analysis of subjective experiences
This interview study (n=13) explores the subjective experience of those seeking out ibogaine treatment for addictions. The themes focus on psychological effects such as transpersonal experiences, autobiographical memories, and personal insights.
Drug and Alcohol Review
December 2022
Cited by 0
A systematic literature review of clinical trials and therapeutic applications of ibogaine
This systematic review (2021) explores clinical trials involving ibogaine and noribogaine. Across the number of trials included, a total of 705 individuals were treated with either ibogaine or noribogaine. It was found that such interventions may be useful for treating substance use disorders, alleviating withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Importantly, a number of severe side effects, including death, that have been recorded in the trials are discussed.
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Cited by 0
Psychedelic treatment for co-occurring alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress symptoms among United States Special Operations Forces Veterans
This survey study (n=51) examined the correlation between psychedelic treatment and changes in alcohol misuse among trauma-exposed US Special Operations Forces Veterans (SOFV). Participants underwent treatment with either ibogaine or 5-MeO-DMT at a clinic in Mexico. Treatment led to reductions in alcohol misuse, PTSD symptoms as well as increasing psychological flexibility.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
Cited by 0
Ibogaine Blocks Cue- and Drug-Induced Reinstatement of Conditioned Place Preference to Ethanol in Male Mice
This study explored the effects of ibogaine (10 or 30 mg/kg) on ethanol-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) mice. The study found that ibogaine blocked ethanol-induced CPP during a drug priming reinstatement test and during a drug-free test, after mice had been re-exposed to ethanol. These findings suggest ibogaine may be useful for treating alcohol use disorder.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
Cited by 0
The iboga alkaloids
This academic chapter (2017) offers the latest insight into the iboga alkaloids and related compounds (e.g. 18-MC) in order to update knowledge on the most recent advancements in the field.
Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products
February 2017
Cited by 22
The adverse events of ibogaine in humans: an updated systematic review of the literature (2015-2020)
This review (s=18) did a qualitative analysis of studies with ibogaine and describes the acute adverse events (cardiac, gastrointestinal, neurological) and long-lasting effects (persistent cardiac, psychiatric, neurological). The authors note that phase I studies with standardized products are necessary as the products quantity and mix was widely varied.
Psychopharmacology
August 2021
Cited by 0
A Single Administration of the Atypical Psychedelic Ibogaine or Its Metabolite Noribogaine Induces an Antidepressant-Like Effect in Rats
This rodent study investigates behavioral effects of acute ibogaine and noribogaine administration in rats. It found that both produced a dose-and time-dependent antidepressant effect without substantial changes in animal locomotor activity.
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
April 2020
Cited by 3
Novel Class of Psychedelic Iboga Alkaloids Disrupts Opioid Use
This preprint (2023, v2) animal in vivo and human in vitro study examines a new class of oxa-iboga alkaloids (10 & 40 mg/kg) concerning their effects on opioid addiction in rats and their cardiotoxic effects on human heart cells. In contrast to noribogaine, oxa-iboga analogs exhibited no risk of inducing arrhythmia in adult human primary cardiomyocytes, and oxa-noribogaine induced acute and long-lasting suppression of morphine self-administration in rats in response to both single and repeated dosing regimes.
Biorxiv
February 2023
Cited by 1
Ibogaine Detoxification Transitions Opioid and Cocaine Abusers Between Dependence and Abstinence: Clinical Observations and Treatment Outcomes
The clinical study reviewed open-label case series (n=191) of human volunteers to review in-patient ibogaine (0.5-0.8g) detoxification using multi-dimensional craving questionnaires. It was found that Ibogaine therapy in a "safe dose range" decreases opioid withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. The study proposed the development of a single oral dose of ibogaine to treat opioid withdrawal during medically monitored detoxification to help drug-dependent individuals in abstinence.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
June 2018
Cited by 18
Detoxification from methadone using low, repeated, and increasing doses of ibogaine: A case report
This case report (2017) explores using low, repeated, and increasing doses of ibogaine for someone who is heroin-dependent and is currently undergoing methadone maintenance treatments (MMT). It found that every administration of ibogaine reduced the withdrawal symptoms for several hours, and attenuated the tolerance to methadone until all withdrawal symptoms vanished with no serious adverse effects at the end of the treatment. This is the first such case report on ibogaine treatment using low and cumulative doses for MMT.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 2017
Cited by 5
Noribogaine is a G-Protein Biased κ-Opioid Receptor Agonist
This study examines the specific roles and activities of noribogaine at the opioid receptors in relation to physiological outputs in order to characterize noribogaine to the mu (OPRM) and the kappa (OPRK) opioid receptors. The study observed that the biased agonist/antagonist pharmacology is distinctive to noribogaine in comparison to other ligands including ibogaine, nalmefene, 18-MC, and 6′-GNTI. It predicted that noribogaine promoted some analgesic effects and anti-addictive response.
Neuropharmacology
December 2015
Cited by 43
Serotonin transporter-ibogaine complexes illuminate mechanisms of inhibition and transport
This study investigated serotonin transporter (SERT) complexes with ibogaine to illustrate structure-based mechanisms for transport in serotonin transporter (SERT). The investigation reported that cryo-electron microscopy structures of SERT–ibogaine complexes captured in outward-open, closed and inward-open conformations with ibogaine binding to the central binding site, and the closing extracellular gate with movements of TMs 1b and 6a. The intracellular gate opening had a hinge-like movement of TM1a and the partial unwinding of TM5 that together built a permeation pathway enabling substrate and ion diffusion to the cytoplasm. These structures show the structural rearrangements which occur from the outward-open to inward-open conformations, and give an important insight into the working mechanism of neurotransmitter transport and ibogaine inhibition.
Nature
April 2019
Cited by 48
Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder After Ibogaine Treatment for Opioid Dependence
This case study (n=1) describes one participant who took ibogaine in a study to treat their opioid use disorder (SUD) and subsequently suffered from hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD).
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
December 2018
Cited by 3
Metabolite Profiling of Antiaddictive Alkaloids from Four Mexican Tabernaemontana Species and the Entheogenic African Shrub Tabernanthe iboga (Apocynaceae)
This metabolite profiling study examined antiaddictive alkaloids from alternative plant sources and identified four structurally related iboga type alkaloids – coronaridine, ibogamine, voacangine, and ibogaine – as the predominant chemical feature of four Mexican Tabernaemontana species – T. alba, T. amygdalifolia, T. arborea, and T. donnell-smithii – and the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga.
Chemistry and Biodiversity
January 2019
Cited by 7
Ibogaine Administration Modifies GDNF and BDNF Expression in Brain Regions Involved in Mesocorticolimbic and Nigral Dopaminergic Circuits.
This animal study (n=36) investigated the effects of ibogaine (0, 20, 40 mg/kg) in rats and found that higher doses promoted the expression of Glial cell Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) and that both doses promoted proBDNF expression in the Nucleus Accumbens, which may be underlying mediators of its long-lasting effect on reducing drug dependence.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
March 2019
Cited by 10
An analog of psychedelics restores functional neural circuits disrupted by unpredictable stress
This animal study (n=76) tested the rescue effects of a single dose of the ibogaine-analog tabernanthalog (10 mg/kg) administered after mild exposure to unpredictable mild stress in mice and found that it restored deficits in dendritic spine structural dynamics, neuronal activities, and the bottom-up processing of novel contextual information.
Molecular Psychiatry
May 2021
The antiaddictive effects of ibogaine: A systematic literature review of human studies
This systematic review (2017) examined the antiaddictive effects of ibogaine (420 - 2030mg/70kg) in humans and identified seven open-label studies that indicated that ibogaine/noribogaine significantly reduced opiate/opioid withdrawal symptoms and that many subjects remained drug-free for several days after treatment. However, these results were largely heterogeneous and the only additional clinical trial performed failed to find significant reductions in opiate/opioid withdrawal symptoms in response to noribogaine.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
December 2016
Cited by 11
A Mixed-Method Analysis of Persisting Effects Associated with Positive Outcomes Following Ibogaine Detoxification
This qualitative and quantitative retrospective survey study (n=73) investigated the effects of ibogaine (1050mg/70kg) on opioid withdrawal, with the aim of identifying differences related to whether the patients respond to treatment. Patients who were able to decrease or quit using opioids successfully experienced the greatest degree of changes in gratitude, authenticity, and sense of meaning in life, in response to ibogaine treatment.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
July 2018
Cited by 6
Ibogaine Acute Administration in Rats Promotes Wakefulness, Long-Lasting REM Sleep Suppression, and a Distinctive Motor Profile
This animal study (n=26) investigated the effects of ibogaine (20 and 40 mg/kg) on the states of sleep and wakefulness in rats and found that it promotes a waking state that was accompanied by a decrease in the total amount of SWS and REM sleep, in a similar pattern as traditional psychedelics.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
April 2018
Cited by 13
Changes in Withdrawal and Craving Scores in Participants Undergoing Opioid Detoxification Utilizing Ibogaine
This retrospective cohort study (n=50) investigated the efficacy of ibogaine (1.26 – 1.4g/70kg) to treat withdrawal symptoms amongst patients with opioid use disorder and found that ibogaine reduced effectively facilitated opioid detoxification, reduced cravings, and reduced withdrawal.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
April 2018
Cited by 15
Ibogaine: a review
This book chapter (2001) reviews the topics of the First International Conference on Ibogaine, and reviews the chemical structure of ibogaine, its biological mechanisms of action, effects in humans and animal models, pharmacokinetics, and safety profile, etc. Case reports in humans and effects in preclinical models of drug dependence suggest the iboga alkaloids may have efficacy in addiction on the basis of mechanisms that are not yet known and which can possibly be dissociated from toxic effects and may present significant promise as a paradigm for the study and development of pharmacotherapy for addiction.
The Alkaloids Chemistry and Biology
January 2004
Cited by 168
The Anti-Addiction Drug Ibogaine and the Heart: A Delicate Relation
This review (2015) examines how the anti-addictive drug ibogaine affects the heart and the cardiovascular system and outlines a sequence of deleterious events that lower heart rate and selectively block cardiac ion channels which pave the way for life-threatening arrhythmias. Due to the longevity of noribogaine—ibogaine’s active metabolite—in human plasma, cardiac adverse events may also occur several days after, which highlights the need for developing less toxic variants of ibogaine such as 18-MC.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
January 2015
Cited by 57

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Find all relevant psychedelic research papers in our ever-growing database. Here we cover and connect the latest research and seminal papers. From early open-label psychedelic studies with healthy volunteers to large-scale double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

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