Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew traditionally used for healing and spiritual purposes by indigenous populations of the Amazon Basin. In recent years, Brazilian researchers have embarked on the quest to bring ayahuasca into the realm of evidence-based medicine. These efforts have recently culminated in a randomized-controlled trial of ayahuasca for treatment-resistant depression. This study has shown very promising results and brought new evidence for the value of psychedelic-assisted treatments for mental disorders. How is ayahuasca used for treating depression in a research setting? How is this treatment different from other psychedelic-assisted therapies? What are the unique challenges and possible advantages of treating mental disorders with ayahuasca? These and other exciting questions will be addressed in this conversation-based webinar with Dr. Fernanda Palhano-Fontes. Questions and comments by the audience will be welcome.
This event will be presented by Dr. Max Wolff, a clinical psychologist and member of a study team that is currently preparing a large-scale clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression in Germany.
About Fernanda Palhano-Fontes
Dr. Fernanda Palhano-Fontes is an electrical engineer with double degrees: one from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil, and another from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Electrotechnique, d’Electronique, d’Informatique (ENSEEIHT), Toulouse, France. She earned a master’s degree and a PhD in Neurosciences from the Brain Institute of UFRN. In the master’s program, she used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the acute effect of ayahuasca on healthy individuals. In her doctoral thesis, she investigated the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Fernanda Palhano-Fontes is currently a research engineer at the Brain Institute of UFRN. Her main areas of interest are psychedelics, psychiatry, and imaging techniques such as fMRI and electroencephalography.
About the ZOOMING IN Webinar Series:
The ZOOMING IN webinar series at the MIND Academy features in-depth conversations with researchers and clinicians involved in the re-emerging field of psychedelic therapy and neighboring disciplines.
