ICEERS

Two important books have descripted thoughtfully the phenomenological experience of Ayahuasca in different contexts: shamanic, psychotherapeutic and religious (8), (9) . The psychological effects profile of Ayahuasca has also been assessed in controlled studies using both rating scales and Visual Analogue Scales (1), (4).

The rating scales used to assess the psychological effects of Ayahuasca were the HRS (Hallucinogen Rating Scale) and the ARCI (Addicition Research Center Inventory). The HRS is the main rating scale used to assess the effects of entheogens. It consists on six different clusters of the psychedelic-induced experience: Somaesthesia, reflecting somatic effects; Affect, sensitive to emotional and affective responses; Volition, indicating the volunteer’s degree of incapacitation; Cognition, describing modifications in though process or content; Perception, measuring visual, auditory, gustatory, and olfactory experiences; and, finally, Intensity, which reflects the strength of the overall experience.

Scores on the six subscales show that, at the administered doses, Ayahuasca is able to induce distinct psychedelic effects. As would be expected from conventional drugs and somewhat in contrast to popular belief, the most interesting results from the cited studies was that when administered in a clinical setting and carefully controled for expectancy (blind designs), Ayahuasca is found to act in a dose-dependent manner. The Ayahuasca experience is also scored by the voluntary subjects in the following VAS: “liking”, “good effects”, “visions”, “stimulated” and “high”.