title: Effects of low dose ibogaine on subjective mood state and psychological performance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Root bark from Tabernanthe iboga has been used traditionally in West Africa as a psychoactive substance in religious rituals. In smaller doses it is reported anecdotally to have stimulant properties.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the influence of a single 20mg ibogaine dose on psychological variables reflecting subjective mood state and a range of cognitive functions.
  
  
  METHODS
  21 healthy male volunteers received single 20mg doses of ibogaine after 6 days pretreatment with double-blind paroxetine or placebo. We compared responses to a battery of psychometric tests and subjective mood ratings performed before and 2h after ibogaine dosing, and assessed relationships between changes in test scores and concentrations of active moiety (the sum of molar noribogaine and ibogaine concentrations). Psychological tests were chosen based on responsiveness to opioid and serotonergic ligands.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ibogaine had minimal influence on psychological tests and mood ratings. The ability to selectively ignore distracting spatial information showed some evidence of modulation; however because this effect was limited to the less challenging condition calls into question the reliability of this result.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We were unable to identify stimulant effects after single 20mg doses of ibogaine. Future research is needed to confirm whether active moiety concentrations impact selective attention abilities while leaving other cognitive functions and mood state unaffected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: b.forsyth.otago@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Forsyth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: liana@psy.otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: timothy.jowett@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jowett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: hannahjakobi@aol.com.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jakobi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: kira.garbe@googlemail.com.
authors.forename: Kira
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Garbe
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: winterhr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: paul.glue@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glue
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007050:Ibogaine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009520:New Zealand; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011594:Psychometrics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents; D007050:Ibogaine; C094385:noribogaine
keywords: Ibogaine; Mood rating; Noribogaine; Psychological test