Acute and long-term effects of Ayahuasca on (higher-order) cognitive processes

There is increasing evidence of the potential therapeutic value of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca for disorders like depression, PTSD, and anxiety. While the focus has been on ayahuasca's capacity to reduce symptoms of these disorders, including enhancing mood state and well-being, little attention has been paid to the (higher-order) cognitive processes that may be enhanced or that may play a role in this. Examples of such processes include flexible (creative) thinking, empathy, and emotion regulation, which are crucial for everyday interactions and cooperation, and have been found to be decreased in certain pathological populations. The aim of the present chapter is to review the acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on (higher-order) cognitive processes, such as flexible (creative) thinking, empathy, and emotion regulation, and look for the link between these cognitive effects and subjective mood state and well-being. Findings show that, although objective evidence is limited due to a scarcity of studies, previous studies with ayahuasca and similar psychedelics, like psilocybin and LSD, support the notion that ayahuasca can enhance previously mentioned higher-order cognitive processes. Importantly, evidence is given to suggest that this enhancement outlasts the acute stage, thus potentially persisting over time. Unfortunately, no study assessed the relationship between these cognitive effects and mood and well-being. It is concluded that, while these findings partially explain why ayahuasca has therapeutic utility in the treatment of certain psychopathologies, future clinical research into the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca could assess the relationship between the effect on (higher-order) cognitive and emotional processes and mood and well-being and test the role both play in symptom alleviation in the pathological population in the short and longer term