• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
What happens to your brain when you take ayahuasca drug that can transport you 'through time'

Home> News

Published 12:33 3 Jun 2025 GMT+1

What happens to your brain when you take ayahuasca drug that can transport you 'through time'

The side effects are pretty stark

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

Psychedelic substances can have a wide range of effects on the body and mind. Some find the trips to be therapeutic while others have some more deadly consequences.

Ayahuasca is a drug with deep cultural roots that has been linked to healing and transformation.

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic drug, traditionally used in Indigenous Amazonian ceremonies. Also known as yagé, kamarampi and huni, Ayahuasca is typically brewed and consumed as a tea or a concentrated liquid, but it can also be smoked.

Advert

The drink is made by combining the leaves of the chacruna shrub and the ayahuasca vine. The leaves contain the hallucinogenic compound DMT while the vine contains MAO inhibitors, which block the digestion of DMT and allow it to enter the bloodstream and reach the brain.

DMT is structurally similar to serotonin (the 'happy hormone'), which explains its powerful emotional effects.

Why do people take Ayahuasca?

Many people turn to Ayahuasca for spiritual insight, emotional healing, or to confront past trauma. Users often report a heightened sense of emotion, blurring of time, and vivid hallucinations, which allow them to reconnect with past memories and gain a new perspective.

Some early research suggests Ayahuasca could hold promise in treating conditions such as anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addictions and eating disorders.

What happens in your brain during an Ayahuasca trip?

According to brain imaging studies, Ayahuasca may reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN), a region associated with depression and anxiety.

Advert

The experience can feel incredibly therapeutic as users confront their thoughts and feelings without judgment.

Ayahuasca trips have been linked to feelings of mental clarity, peace and even a renewed sense of purpose following the experience.

Some studies have also shown that DMT has been linked to proteins responsible for memory, neural plasticity and regeneration of new neurons and may even play a role in fighting cancer cells.

Leaves of the chacruna shrub and the ayahuasca vine to make a tea. (Mark Fox/Getty)
Leaves of the chacruna shrub and the ayahuasca vine to make a tea. (Mark Fox/Getty)

What are the side effects of Ayahuasca?

Due to the drink's acidity, some drinkers have reported violent retching, vomiting and diarrhoea after their trip. In rare cases, serious health complications and deaths have been reported, often when the brew is consumed in unregulated settings or mixed with other substances.

Advert

All in all, Ayahuasca experiences can vary dramatically from person to person.

One individual described their post-ceremony transformation online, saying they returned with 'zero cravings for anything—sugar, coffee, social media, TV', which they found 'almost repulsive.' Months after their journey, the individual said they 'still feel the lingering effects' including 'more ease, more peace, more presence.'

In the YouTube comments section of AsapSCIENCE's video about Ayahuasca, one user shared their experience.

"I've done it, it was an amazing experience, i've never loved myself so much and i could feel things i used to feel when i was 4 years old," the user wrote. "There were bad feelings too, were i could feel a pain similar to giving birth and i could see myself giving birth to all the bad things of the world."

Advert

Someone else replied: "Ayahausca really healed me years back".

Featured Image Credit: Mark Fox via Getty
Health

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
10 hours ago
12 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • Instagram / Replika
    8 hours ago

    Heartbroken child sobs as she's forced to say goodbye to her AI companion in viral video

    And you thought losing your imaginary friend was tough

    News
  • Rawpixel/Getty Images
    10 hours ago

    Woman suffering with 'persistent genital arousal syndrome' explains how she deals with 'sudden orgasms' in daily life

    The woman admitted lying to her family because it is 'awkward'

    News
  • Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
    12 hours ago

    Donald Trump goes viral after President reveals why he doesn't think he'll be going to 'heaven'

    The president shared something he is doing to try to get into heaven

    News
  • Selman Gedik/Getty
    13 hours ago

    Security experts warn popular VPN app could drain your bank account as thousands of devices already infected

    Over 3,000 devices have been affected so far

    News
  • Eerie simulation shows 'horrifying' reality of what happens to your body if you die in space
  • Fascinating video show what really happens to your body in a coma
  • Video reveals shocking impacts of vaping on your brain
  • Disturbing simulation shows what happens to the human body when it implodes 3,800m below sea level