Table 1.
Neurometabolite Levels at Baseline and in the 24 Hours after Ayahuasca Intake for the 3 Examined Regions of Interest
| Brain Region and Metabolite | Baseline | Post-Ayahuasca | n | df | t Value | P Value | P FDR | Cohen’ d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCC | ||||||||
| Inositol | 8.26 (1.06) | 8.32 (0.95) | 13 | 12 | -0.24 | 0.817 | 0.817 | – |
| Glx | 6.60 (0.64) | 6.25 (0.57) | 12 | 11 | 2.31 | 0.041** | 0.068* | 0.67 |
| Cr | 8.88 (0.50) | 8.61 (0.46) | 14 | 13 | 3.03 | 0.010** | 0.043** | 0.81 |
| Cho | 1.79 (0.19) | 1.77 (0.18) | 14 | 13 | 0.83 | 0.421 | 0.526 | – |
| NAA-NAAG | 12.83 (0.70) | 12.03 (0.93) | 14 | 13 | 2.74 | 0.017** | 0.043** | 0.73 |
| ACC | ||||||||
| Inositol | 8.75 (0.82) | 8.57 (0.79) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Glx | 5.38 (0.39) | 5.51 (0.50) | 13 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cr | 8.39 (0.40) | 8.40 (0.44) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cho | 2.22 (0.20) | 2.20 (0.20) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| NAA-NAAG | 11.20 (0.41) | 11.22 (0.36) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cerebellum | ||||||||
| Inositol | 10.67 (2.19) | 10.05 (1.51) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Glx | 6.79 (0.65) | 6.76 (0.75) | 12 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cr | 13.58 (1.73) | 13.19 (1.28) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cho | 3.38 (0.53) | 3.32 (0.36) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| NAA-NAAG | 13.02 (1.80) | 12.98 (0.94) | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
Abbreviations: ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; Cho, glycerophosphocholine+phosphocholine; Cr, creatine+phosphocreatine; Glx, glutamate+glutamine; NAA-NAAG, N-acetylaspartate+N-acetylaspartylglutamate; PCC, posterior cingulate cortex.
Pair-wise comparisons between baseline and post-acute values were carried out for the PCC only, based on results from the ANOVA, which were significant only for this region. Comparisons were carried out using paired-samples Student’s t tests. Values are expressed as mean (SD) in millimolar concentration units. *P < .01; **P < .05; P FDR, FDR corrected P value.