MentalHealthDaily

Ayahuasca Reversed Chronic Stress Markers in Zebrafish Model

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for ayahuasca chronic-stress zebrafish cortisol and BDNF study.

A zebrafish experiment found that one 1-hour ayahuasca exposure reversed several effects of 14 days of unpredictable chronic stress: impaired sociability, anxiety-like behavior, stress-related hyperlocomotion, elevated cortisol, and reduced whole-brain BDNF.1 The result is mechanistic animal evidence, not a clinical trial of ayahuasca for human depression or anxiety. Research Highlights 14 days of chronic stress …

Lateral Septal PACAP Increased Stress Hormones and Anxiety Behavior

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for lateral septal PACAP signaling and anxiety behavior.

A 2026 rat study found that activating PACAP signaling in the lateral septum amplified stress-hormone release and anxiety-like behavior, while blocking endogenous PACAP receptors produced an anxiolytic pattern.1 The result makes the lateral septum look less like a passive relay and more like a stress-reactivity node in the PACAP pathway. Research Highlights Stress hormones rose: …