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Home > Faculty and Staff > M-Z > Dennis Jon McKenna, PhD
Dennis Jon McKenna, PhD
 Position: Senior Lecturer and Research Associate
Organization: Center for Spirituality & Healing
Office Address
D512 Mayo Memorial Buildling, MMC 505
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Home Address
PO Box 224
Marine on St Croix, MN 55047
Office Phone: 612-624-0112
Office Fax: 612-626-5280
Other Phone: 604-836-5984
Home Phone:
Mobile Phone: 651-270-8607
Email Address: djmckenna@mac.com
Web Page: http://www.bcit.ca/appliedresearch/nhp/
Educational Background
Dr. McKenna received his Master's Degree in Botany from the University of Hawaii in 1979, and his Ph.D. in Botanical Sciences from the University of British Columbia in 1984. His doctoral research focused on phytochemical and pharmacological investigation of Amazonian ethnomedical plants. He received post-doctoral research fellowships in the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and in the Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine.
Brief Biography
Dennis McKenna currently holds an adjunct appointment as a Senior Lecturer and Research Associate in the Center for Spirituality and Healing in the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota. He recently accepted a position as Senior Research Scientist in the Natural Health Products Research Group at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, B.C. Dr. McKenna received his Master's Degree in Botany from the University of Hawaii in 1979, and his Ph.D. in Botanical Sciences from the University of British Columbia in 1984. His doctoral research focused on phytochemical and pharmacological investigation of Amazonian ethnomedical plants. He received post-doctoral research fellowships in the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and in the Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. McKenna serves on the Advisory Board of the American Botanical Council, and on the Editorial Board of Phytomedicine, International Journal of Phytotherapy and Phytopharmacology. He has conducted extensive ethnobotanical fieldwork in the Peruvian, Colombian, and Brasilian Amazon. He is currently the PI on a project, funded by the Stanley Medical Research Institute, to investigate Amazonian ethnomedicines for potential applications in the treatment of schizophrenia. McKenna is author or co-author on over 40 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, European Journal of Pharmacology, Brain Research, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Neurochemistry, Economic Botany, Alternative and Complementary Therapies, and elsewhere. Dr. McKenna and two colleagues are co-authors of a widely recognized reference work on herbal medicines, titled Botanical Medicines: the Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements (Haworth Press, 2002)
Teaching Areas
Plants in Human Affairs CSH 5405
Research Interests
Ethnopharmacology & Ethnobotany
Natural Products and Drug Discovery
Amazonian ethnomedicine
Selected Publications
Publications:
McKenna, DJ (2007) The Healing Vine: Ayahuasca as Medicine in the 21st Century IN: Winkleman. MJ, Roberts TB Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments. Praeger Publishers ISBN: 0-275-99023-0
Callaway, JC., Grob, C.A., Nichols, D.E., Shulgin, A., McKenna, D. J. (2006) A demand for clarity regarding a case report on the ingestion of 5-methoxy-N,Ndimethyltryptamine (%MeO-DMT) in an ayahuasca preparation. Letter to Editor. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 30:406-407.
McKenna, Dennis J., Kingston, R., Harris, I. (2006) Introduction to Botanical Medicines. Peer-reviewed online learning module offered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). URL: http://services.aamc.org/jsp/mededportal/searchUserInfo.do Alternate URL: http://www.csh.umn.edu/modules/index.html
McKenna, Dennis J. (2005) Ayahuasca and Human Destiny. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 37:231-234. Special issue of JPD devoted to Ayahuasca Use in Cross-cultural Perspective
McKenna, Dennis J. (2004) Clinical investigations of the therapeutic potential of Ayahuasca: Rationale and regulatory challenges. Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 102:111-129.
McKenna, Dennis J. (2003) Kava in the treatment of anxiety. Natural Pharmacy 7:16-17
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Kenneth Jones (2002) Astragalus Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 8(6):34-43.
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Kenneth Jones (2002) Co-enzyme Q-10: Efficacy, Safety, and Use Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 8(3):42-55.
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Kenneth Jones (coauthors & editors) Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements. Haworth Herbal Press. 2002. ISBN# 0-7890-1265-0
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Kenneth Jones (2001) Efficacy, safety, and use of Ginkgo biloba in clinical and preclinical applications. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 7(5):70-86, 88-90
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Sheila Humphrey, Kenneth Jones (2001) Black Cohosh: Efficacy, safety, and use in clinical and preclinical applications.Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 7(3):93-100
McKenna Dennis J., Kerry Hughes, Kenneth Jones (2000) Green Tea Monograph. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 6(3):61-84.
Lebot, Vincent, Ed Johnston, Qun Yi Zheng, Doug McKern, and Dennis J. McKenna (1999) Morphological, Phytochemical, and Genetic Variation in Hawaiian Cultivars of ¿Awa (Kava, Piper methysticum Forster F., Piperaceae). Economic Botany 53:407-418
Dennis J. McKenna (1999) Ayahuasca: an ethnopharmacologic history. In: R. Metzner, (ed) Ayahuasca: Hallucinogens, Consciousness, and the Spirit of Nature. Thunder's Mouth Press, New York.
Callaway, J. C., D. J. McKenna, C. S. Grob, G. S. Brito, L. P. Raymon, R.E. Poland, E. N. Andrade, E. O. Andrade, D. C. Mash (1999) Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca alkaloids in Healthy Humans. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 65:243-256.
McKenna, DJ, JC Callaway, CS Grob (1999). The scientific investigation of ayahuasca: A review of past and current research. Heffter Review of Psychedelic Research 1:65-76
Callaway, J. C, D. J. McKenna (1998) Neurochemistry of psychedelic drugs. In Koch, S. (ed.) Handbook of Drug Abuse, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
McKenna, DJ (Editor in chief) (1998) Natural Dietary Supplements Desktop Reference. © 1998, Institute for Natural Products Research.
Callaway, J. C., L. P. Raymon, W. L. Hearn, D. J. McKenna, C. S. Grob, G. S. Brito, D. C. Mash (1996) Quantitation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids in human plasma after oral dosing with Ayahuasca. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 20: 492-497
McKenna, DJ (1996) Plant hallucinogens: Springboards for psychotherapeutic drug discovery. Behavioural Brain Research 73:109-116
C. S. Grob, D. J. McKenna, J. C. Callaway, G. S. Brito, E. S. Neves, G. Oberlender, O. L. Saide, E. Labigalini, C. Tacla, C. T. Miranda, R. J. Strassman, K. B. Boone (1996) Human pharmacology of hoasca, a plant hallucinogen used in ritual context in Brasil: Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease. 184:86-94. McKenna, DJ
(1996)
James C. Callaway, M. M. Airaksinen, Dennis J. McKenna, Glacus S. Brito, & Charles S. Grob (1994) Platelet serotonin uptake sites increased in drinkers of ayahuasca. Psychopharmacology 116: 385-387
Dennis J. McKenna, L. E. Luna, & G. H. N. Towers, (1995) Biodynamic constituents in Ayahuasca admixture plants: an uninvestigated folk pharmacopoeia. In: von Reis, S., and R. E. Schultes (eds). Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. Dioscorides Press, Portland
Dennis J. McKenna (1995) Bitter brews and other abominations: The uses and abuses of some little-known hallucinogenic plants. Integration, Journal of Mind-moving Plants and Culture 5:99-104.
Constantino M. Torres, David B. Repke, Kelvin Chan, Dennis McKenna, Augustin Llagostera, and Richard E. Schultes (1992) Botanical, chemical, and contextual analysis of archaeological snuff powders from San Pedro de Atacama, Northern Chile. Current Anthropology. 32:640-649.
Chester A. Mathis, John M. Gerdes, Joel D. Enas, John M. Whitney, Scott E. Taylor, Yi Zhang, Dennis J. McKenna, Sona Havlik, and Stephen J. Peroutka (1992) Binding potency of paroxetine analogues for the serotonin uptake complex. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 44:801-805.
Dennis J. McKenna, X.-M. Guan, and A. T. Shulgin (1991) 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) analogues exhibit differential effects on synaptosomal release of 3H-dopamine and 3H-5-hydroxytryptamine. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior. 38:505-512.
David E. Nichols, Robert Oberlender, and Dennis J. McKenna (1991) Stereochemical Aspects of Hallucinogenesis. Chapter 1, pp. 1-39 in R. R. Watson (ed.) Biochemistry and Physiology of Substance Abuse, Vol. III. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Dennis J. McKenna and Stephen J. Peroutka (1990) Serotonin neurotoxins: Focus on MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, "Ecstasy") In S. J. Peroutka, (ed.) Serotonin Receptor Subtypes: Basic and Clinical Aspects, Alan R. Liss Publishers, New York. pp. 127-148.
Dennis J. McKenna, David B. Repke, Leland Lo, and Stephen J. Peroutka (1990) Differential interactions of indolealkylamines with 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor subtypes. Neuropharmacology. 29:193-198.
Dennis J. McKenna and Stephen J. Peroutka (1990) The neurochemistry and neurotoxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy"). J. Neurochemistry. 54:14-22.
Cameron R. Hekmatpanah, Dennis J. McKenna, and Stephen J. Peroutka (1989) Reserpine does not prevent 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. Neuroscience Letters. 104:178-182.
Dennis J. McKenna, David B. Repke, and Stephen J. Peroutka (1989) Hallucinogenic indolealkylamines are selective for 5HT2A binding sites. Neuroscience Abstracts. 15:485.
Dennis J. McKenna & Stephen J. Peroutka (1989) Differentiation of 5-hydroxytryptamine2 receptor subtypes using 125I-R-(-)2,5,-dimethoxyphenylisopropylamine (125I-R(-)DOI) and 3H-ketanserin. J. of Neuroscience. 9:3482-3490.
Dennis J. McKenna, Adil J. Nazarali, Andrew J. Hoffman, David E. Nichols, C. A. Mathis, & Juan M. Saavedra (1989) Common receptors for hallucinogens in rat brain: a comparative autoradiographic study using [125I]LSD and [125I]-DOI, a new psychotomimetic radioligand. Brain Research. 476:45-56.
Dennis J. McKenna, Adil J. Nazarali, Akihiko Himeno, & Juan M. Saavedra (1989) Chronic treatment with (±)DOI, a psychotomimetic 5HT2 agonist, downregulates 5HT2 receptors in rat brain. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2:81-87.
Adil J. Nazarali, Dennis J. McKenna, & Juan M. Saavedra (1989) Autoradiographic localization of 5HT2 receptors in rat brain using [125I]-DOI, a selective psychotomimetic radioligand. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. and Biol. Psychiatry, 13:573-581
Dennis J. McKenna, C. A. Mathis, & Stephen J. Peroutka (1988) Characterization of 125I-DOI binding sites in rat brain. Neuroscience Abstracts 14:No. 247.12
Akihiko Himeno, Dennis J. McKenna, Adil J. Nazarali, & Juan M. Saavedra (1988) (±)DOI, a hallucinogenic phenylalkylamine, downregulates 5HT2 receptors in rat brain. Neuroscience Abstracts 14:No. 229.2
Dennis J. McKenna & J. M. Saavedra (1987) Autoradiography of LSD and 2,5-dimethoxyphenylisopropylamine psychotomimetics demonstrates regional, specific cross-displacement in the rat brain. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 142:313-315.
Dennis J. McKenna, C. A. Mathis, A. T. Shulgin, & J. M. Saavedra (1987) Hallucinogens bind to common receptors in the rat forebrain: a comparative study using 125ILSD and 125I-DOI, a new psychotomimetic radioligand. Neuroscience Abstracts, 13:No. 311.14
Dennis J. McKenna, C. A. Mathis, A. T. Shulgin, Thornton Sargent III, & J. M. Saavedra (1987) Autoradiographic localization of binding sites for 125I-(-)DOI, a new psychotomimetic radioligand, in the rat brain. Eur J. Pharmacol., 137:289-290.
Dennis J. McKenna, L. E. Luna, & G. H. N. Towers, (1986) Ingredientes biodinamicos en las plantas que se meszclan al ayahausca. Una farmacopea tradicional no investigada. America Indigena, 46:73-101. (Spanish with English abstract)
Dennis J. McKenna, & G. H. N. Towers, (1985) On the comparative ethnopharmacology of the Malpighiaceous and Myristicaceous hallucinogens. J. Psychoactive Drugs, 17:35-39.
Dennis J. McKenna, & G. H. N. Towers, (1984), Biochemistry and pharmacology of tryptamine and ß-carboline derivatives: A minireview. J. Psychoactive Drugs, 16:347-358.
Dennis J. McKenna, G. H. N. Towers, & F. S. Abbott (1984) Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and ß-carboline constituents of Ayahuasca. J. of Ethnopharmacology 10:195-223.
Dennis J. McKenna, G. H. N. Towers, & F. S. Abbott (1984) Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants Pt. II: Constituents of orally active Myristicaceous hallucinogens. J. of Ethnopharmacology 12:179-211.
Dennis J. McKenna & G. H. N. Towers (1981) Ultra-violet mediated cytotoxic activity of ß-carboline alkaloids. Phytochemistry 20:1001-1004
Dennis J. McKenna & T. K. McKenna (1975) The Invisible Landscape. Seabury Press, New York.
Book Reviews & Popular Articles:
Dennis J. McKenna (1989) Its a Jungle Out There: Biochemical Conflict and Cooperation in the Ecosphere. Whole Earth Review, 64:40-47. (popular article on chemical ecology)
Dennis J. McKenna (1989) Plant Wisdom Resources. Whole Earth Review, 64:48-49.
Dennis J. McKenna (1992) DMT: Nature's Ubiquitous Hallucinogen. Interdependances Fall issue 1992.
Dennis J. McKenna (1992) Tryptamine Hallucinogens of the New World: An Ethnopharmacological Survey. Interdependances, Fall issue 1992.
Review: The Healing Forest: Medicinal & Toxic Plants of the Northwest Amazonia by R. E. Schultes & R.F. Raffauf. Reviewed in Shaman's Drum, Spring, 1991 and Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1991
Review: The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson Thomas J. Reidlinger, Editor. Reviewed in Shaman's Drum, Winter 1990-91 and Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1991
Review: Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman, by Luis Eduardo Luna & Pablo Amaringo. Reviewed in Shaman's Drum, Spring, 1992
Review: PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, by Alexander T. Shulgin & Ann Shulgin. Reviewed in Gnosis, Spring, 1992
Dennis J. McKenna (2006) Mescaline: A Molecular History. Fate Magazine, January 2006 issue.
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