Ayahuasca, Dimethyltriptamine, and Neuroplasticity

With all of that basic neuroscience as a context, it is now possible for us to explore the profound effect that a compound such as ayahuasca can have on the human condition.

Consider, for example, that a substance such as DMT, the active component of ayahuasca, has the ability to significantly stimulate the growth of growth of neurons and create an increase in synapses²³.

What does this mean? It means that ayahuasca is potentially a means of facilitating an increased ability of our neural networks to make new and meaningful connections, potentially leading to an increase in learning ability, increased communication between different parts of the body, and much much more. Let’s reiterate and explore this critically important point.

DMT triggers the increased growth of neurons – brain cells. Neurons are the primary component of the nervous system and are responsible for everything from learning and memory to self-awareness, feelings, moods, emotions, and physical movement. DMT further creates an increased number of synapses – gateways where information can flow between different brain cells. Quite literally, this implies an increased ability to create connections between different thoughts and experiences, make realizations and draw conclusions about things that were previously not possible because the neural connections did not previously exist. Amazing!

Not only does this insight have profound implications for anyone who sets the intention to experience a deeper understanding of themselves, their world, their relationships, or anything else significant in their lives, but it also has profound implications for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, as well as other conditions such as depression and addiction²⁴ which are associated with increased neuronal atrophy – the disuse, wasting, or failure of brain cells, particularly those in the prefrontal cortex of the brain²⁵.

Even in the absence of acute conditions such as Alzheimer’s or addiction, an increase in neurons and synapses is a desirable outcome of any treatment. Thus the use of DMT as a neurostimulative supplement supporting ongoing brain health and mental activity is of great interest now and going forward. It may well find its own place amongst other so-called nootropics that support brain function, as well as other behaviors and practices such as problem solving and other mental stimulation which are known to stimulate brain activity and protect against mental decline²⁶.

These insights even reach as far as remedying experiential traumas. Compounds which create a fast-acting environment of increased neuroplasticity, facilitating the ability to ‘reprogram’ the brain’s understanding of and meaning assigned to previous events, are known as psychoplastogens. It has been shown, for example, that psychoplastogens are effective at reducing stressors²⁷ associated with the onset²⁸ of post-traumatic stress disorder²⁹. Ayahuasca is also being looked at for other related diseases and ailments, including Parkinson’s disease³⁰, which is also a neurodegenerative disease.

Amazingly, DMT has also been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect, reducing the production of certain molecules that causes inflammation and increasing production of molecules that reduce inflammation³¹ including reducing the stress caused by reduced oxygen in cells³².

One important feature of neuroplasticity is the fact that neurons become far less plastic with age. The neural networks of a child are many times more flexible and adaptable than those of a grown adult, and this makes sense to any adult who has begun to feel their years – over time certain things become more and more ‘hardwired’ in to the adult brain, whether it is because of repetitive use or a lack of experiences that create new connections and force the existing network to change.

You can think of something like ayahuasca, then, as a tool to restore some of this previous elasticity to the central nervous system’s network – both for the short-term of the active psychedelic experience, and to a lesser extent for the long-term after the acute experience is over. Ayahuasca can provide a means to experience a state of consciousness that is quite unique when understood in the context of neuroscience: a state of consciousness where the years of meaningful experience that come with adulthood, exist within neural networks which are temporarily highly plastic like those of a child.

In other words, ayahuasca creates a state of being where the brain can create new synaptic connections and rewire existing connections in ways that are not normally possible. Normally a highly neuroplastic brain – that of a child – does not enjoy the long history of life experiences that an adult does, and a highly experienced brain – that of an adult – does not enjoy the high degree of neuroplasticity that it once did as a child. Ayahuasca provides the willing adult mind with the best of both worlds, so to speak – an experienced adult brain, full of memory and learning, that is also highly plasticized, capable of creating, expanding, and rewiring its richly detailed adult neural networks in ways that the brain is normally able to do only when it is younger. This, one can conclude is the reason that ayahuasca is often called ‘revelatory’.

Finally, let’s talk briefly about brainwaves. As you may know, the brain’s natural frequency can vary from just a few cycles per second to several dozen per second. Various brainwave frequencies are associated with various states of being, physical activities, and feelings or emotional states of being. Beta waves, for example, between approximately 15 and 30 cycles per second, are associated with normal waking life, simple and repetitive tasks, and normal problem solving activity, while delta waves are associated with deep sleep and theta waves are associated with creativity and imagination.

Ayahuasca has been shown to increase the brain’s output of gamma waves³³, which are associated with high-level mental activity³⁴, including deep thought, moral considerations and reasoning, and spiritual and meditative states. Gamma waves have recently been tied to increased compassion³⁵, happiness, love³⁶, and learning intelligence³⁷. You might know the feeling of gamma wave activity by the feeling of being ‘in the zone’ – focused and not easily distracted from anything outside of what you are doing. Those are the gamma waves of the brain. Meditation, for example, is one of the more well-known endeavors that promotes increased gamma wave activity in the brain³⁸.