A substance commonly used as a psychedelic in Latin American nations found in ayahuasca tea could result in the formation of new neurons if consumed, a new Spanish study finds.
According to researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid, consuming ayahuasca team, containing the component N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), could also lead to the formation of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
“Here, we have examined, in vitro and vivo, the potential neurogenic effect of DMT,” the study’s authors stated in their article released in Nature.
“In conclusion, this study shows that DMT present in the ayahuasca infusion promotes neurogenesis by stimulating the expansion of neural progenitors populations, and by inducing the differentiation of these NSCs,” they added in their findings.
“Moreover, the neurogenic stimulation observed after DMT treatment correlates with an improvement in spatial learning and memory tasks in vivo. Stimulation of the neurogenic niches of the adult brain can contribute substantially to the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca in recent clinical studies.”
