ExcelMale
Menu
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Videos
Lab Tests
Doctor Finder
Buy Books
About Us
Men’s Health Coaching
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
Mental Health
Study Reveals DMT’s Effects on the Human Brain in Unprecedented Detail
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Vince" data-source="post: 249265" data-attributes="member: 843"><p>A new study has unveiled how psychedelics achieve their perception-altering effects in the human brain. The research used a powerful combination of brain analysis techniques to provide the clearest picture yet of how the short-acting, but powerful psychedelic DMT (dimethyltryptamine) affects brain activity.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The research was published in the journal <em>PNAS</em>.</p><p></p><h2><strong>DMT: The key ingredient in ayahuasca</strong></h2><p>DMT has a storied history. Used for thousands of years in rituals and other ceremonies across Central and South America, it is the key active component of the potent psychedelic brew ayahuasca. More recently, the compound was synthetically created by German–Canadian chemist Richard Manske in 1931.</p><p></p><p>The DMT experience makes it particularly promising as a therapeutic psychedelic. The University of New Mexico’s Professor Rick Strassman, an expert in the compound, describes it as inducing effects like “visions, voices, a seeming separation of consciousness from the body, extreme emotional states and contact with seemingly discarnate intelligences.” But the compound does so over relatively short periods of time as compared to other <a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/lists/ketamine-mdma-dmt-and-psilocybin-a-closer-look-at-four-psychedelics-354218" target="_blank">classic psychedelics</a> such as psilocybin. That makes it much more flexible as a tool for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. But no previous study has exploited this short duration to study the effects of DMT on the human brain in high detail before, during and after a DMT trip.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That has all changed with the release of the new paper. “This work is exciting as it provides the most advanced human neuroimaging view of the psychedelic state to date,” said study first author <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.timmermann-slater15" target="_blank">Dr. Chris Timmermann</a>, from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/" target="_blank">Home</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience" target="_blank">Neuroscience</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news" target="_blank">News</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Content Piece</li> </ul><h3>Study Reveals DMT’s Effects on the Human Brain in Unprecedented Detail</h3><p>News </p><p>Published: March 20, 2023</p><p>|</p><p>Ruairi J Mackenzie</p><p>A section of banisteriopsis caapi, an ingredient in ayahuasca that extends the brew's psychedelic powers. [Updated March 21, 2023] Credit: iStock</p><p></p><p>A new study has unveiled how psychedelics achieve their perception-altering effects in the human brain. The research used a powerful combination of brain analysis techniques to provide the clearest picture yet of how the short-acting, but powerful psychedelic DMT (dimethyltryptamine) affects brain activity.</p><p></p><p>The research was published in the journal <em>PNAS</em>.</p><h3><strong>DMT: The key ingredient in ayahuasca</strong></h3><p>DMT has a storied history. Used for thousands of years in rituals and other ceremonies across Central and South America, it is the key active component of the potent psychedelic brew ayahuasca. More recently, the compound was synthetically created by German–Canadian chemist Richard Manske in 1931.</p><p></p><p>The DMT experience makes it particularly promising as a therapeutic psychedelic. The University of New Mexico’s Professor Rick Strassman, an expert in the compound, describes it as inducing effects like “visions, voices, a seeming separation of consciousness from the body, extreme emotional states and contact with seemingly discarnate intelligences.” But the compound does so over relatively short periods of time as compared to other <a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/lists/ketamine-mdma-dmt-and-psilocybin-a-closer-look-at-four-psychedelics-354218" target="_blank">classic psychedelics</a> such as psilocybin. That makes it much more flexible as a tool for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. But no previous study has exploited this short duration to study the effects of DMT on the human brain in high detail before, during and after a DMT trip.</p><p></p><p>That has all changed with the release of the new paper. “This work is exciting as it provides the most advanced human neuroimaging view of the psychedelic state to date,” said study first author <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.timmermann-slater15" target="_blank">Dr. Chris Timmermann</a>, from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.</p><h3><strong>Brain activity analysis</strong></h3><p>Timmermann and colleagues recruited 20 healthy volunteers, who were given a high-dose injection of DMT (20 mg) and then subjected to two types of brain analysis. They were fitted with an electroencephalography (EEG) cap and placed inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner.</p><p></p><p>The cap measured electrical signals from the volunteers’ scalps over 31 different sites. At the same time, the fMRI scan detected the movement of oxygenated blood inside their brains as a proxy for brain activity. This allows the team to create a detailed image of their participants’ brain activity. Their trip lasted around 20 minutes in total. Over that period, there were dramatic changes in their brains.</p><p></p><p>Brain activity is usually segregated into discrete networks. After DMT injection, those networks appeared to break down, meaning that overall brain connectivity increased. This aligns with a <a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/psilocybin-may-relieve-depression-through-disintegration-of-entrenched-brain-networks-360525" target="_blank">previous study</a> of the brain response to psilocybin published by senior author Robin Carhart-Harris. The most significant changes were detected in brain areas linked to high-level cognitive functions like imagination.</p><p></p><p>Timmermann summarized the findings: “What we have seen with DMT is that activity in highly evolved areas and systems of the brain that encode especially high-level models becomes highly dysregulated under the drug, and this relates to the intense drug ‘trip’.”</p><p></p><p>The team now hopes to prolong DMT’s psychedelic “peak” through a continuous infusion protocol. Carhart-Harris, now of the University of California, San Francisco, added, “Our results revealed that when a volunteer was on DMT there was a marked dysregulation of some of the brain rhythms that would ordinarily be dominant. The brain switched in its mode of functioning to something altogether more anarchic. It will be fascinating to follow up on these insights in the years to come. Psychedelics are proving to be extremely powerful scientific tools for furthering our understanding of how brain activity relates to conscious experience.”</p><p></p><p><strong>Reference</strong>: Timmermann C, Roseman L, Haridas S <em>et al. </em>Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI. <em>PNAS</em>. 2023; 120: e2218949120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2218949120.</p><p></p><p><em>This article is a rework of a <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/advanced-brain-imaging-study-hints-at-how-dmt-psychedelic-alters-perception-of-reality" target="_blank">press release</a> issued by Imperial College London. Material has been edited for length and content. </em></p><p></p><p>Correction: The image description erroneously suggested that <em>Banisteriopsis caapi</em> is a natural source of DMT in ayahuasca. Instead, it is a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that extend the psychedelic experience.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Vince, post: 249265, member: 843"] A new study has unveiled how psychedelics achieve their perception-altering effects in the human brain. The research used a powerful combination of brain analysis techniques to provide the clearest picture yet of how the short-acting, but powerful psychedelic DMT (dimethyltryptamine) affects brain activity. The research was published in the journal [I]PNAS[/I]. [HEADING=1][B]DMT: The key ingredient in ayahuasca[/B][/HEADING] DMT has a storied history. Used for thousands of years in rituals and other ceremonies across Central and South America, it is the key active component of the potent psychedelic brew ayahuasca. More recently, the compound was synthetically created by German–Canadian chemist Richard Manske in 1931. The DMT experience makes it particularly promising as a therapeutic psychedelic. The University of New Mexico’s Professor Rick Strassman, an expert in the compound, describes it as inducing effects like “visions, voices, a seeming separation of consciousness from the body, extreme emotional states and contact with seemingly discarnate intelligences.” But the compound does so over relatively short periods of time as compared to other [URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/lists/ketamine-mdma-dmt-and-psilocybin-a-closer-look-at-four-psychedelics-354218']classic psychedelics[/URL] such as psilocybin. That makes it much more flexible as a tool for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. But no previous study has exploited this short duration to study the effects of DMT on the human brain in high detail before, during and after a DMT trip. That has all changed with the release of the new paper. “This work is exciting as it provides the most advanced human neuroimaging view of the psychedelic state to date,” said study first author [URL='https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.timmermann-slater15']Dr. Chris Timmermann[/URL], from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. [LIST] [*][URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/']Home[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience']Neuroscience[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news']News[/URL] [*]Content Piece [/LIST] [HEADING=2]Study Reveals DMT’s Effects on the Human Brain in Unprecedented Detail[/HEADING] News Published: March 20, 2023 | Ruairi J Mackenzie A section of banisteriopsis caapi, an ingredient in ayahuasca that extends the brew's psychedelic powers. [Updated March 21, 2023] Credit: iStock A new study has unveiled how psychedelics achieve their perception-altering effects in the human brain. The research used a powerful combination of brain analysis techniques to provide the clearest picture yet of how the short-acting, but powerful psychedelic DMT (dimethyltryptamine) affects brain activity. The research was published in the journal [I]PNAS[/I]. [HEADING=2][B]DMT: The key ingredient in ayahuasca[/B][/HEADING] DMT has a storied history. Used for thousands of years in rituals and other ceremonies across Central and South America, it is the key active component of the potent psychedelic brew ayahuasca. More recently, the compound was synthetically created by German–Canadian chemist Richard Manske in 1931. The DMT experience makes it particularly promising as a therapeutic psychedelic. The University of New Mexico’s Professor Rick Strassman, an expert in the compound, describes it as inducing effects like “visions, voices, a seeming separation of consciousness from the body, extreme emotional states and contact with seemingly discarnate intelligences.” But the compound does so over relatively short periods of time as compared to other [URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/lists/ketamine-mdma-dmt-and-psilocybin-a-closer-look-at-four-psychedelics-354218']classic psychedelics[/URL] such as psilocybin. That makes it much more flexible as a tool for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. But no previous study has exploited this short duration to study the effects of DMT on the human brain in high detail before, during and after a DMT trip. That has all changed with the release of the new paper. “This work is exciting as it provides the most advanced human neuroimaging view of the psychedelic state to date,” said study first author [URL='https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.timmermann-slater15']Dr. Chris Timmermann[/URL], from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. [HEADING=2][B]Brain activity analysis[/B][/HEADING] Timmermann and colleagues recruited 20 healthy volunteers, who were given a high-dose injection of DMT (20 mg) and then subjected to two types of brain analysis. They were fitted with an electroencephalography (EEG) cap and placed inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The cap measured electrical signals from the volunteers’ scalps over 31 different sites. At the same time, the fMRI scan detected the movement of oxygenated blood inside their brains as a proxy for brain activity. This allows the team to create a detailed image of their participants’ brain activity. Their trip lasted around 20 minutes in total. Over that period, there were dramatic changes in their brains. Brain activity is usually segregated into discrete networks. After DMT injection, those networks appeared to break down, meaning that overall brain connectivity increased. This aligns with a [URL='https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/psilocybin-may-relieve-depression-through-disintegration-of-entrenched-brain-networks-360525']previous study[/URL] of the brain response to psilocybin published by senior author Robin Carhart-Harris. The most significant changes were detected in brain areas linked to high-level cognitive functions like imagination. Timmermann summarized the findings: “What we have seen with DMT is that activity in highly evolved areas and systems of the brain that encode especially high-level models becomes highly dysregulated under the drug, and this relates to the intense drug ‘trip’.” The team now hopes to prolong DMT’s psychedelic “peak” through a continuous infusion protocol. Carhart-Harris, now of the University of California, San Francisco, added, “Our results revealed that when a volunteer was on DMT there was a marked dysregulation of some of the brain rhythms that would ordinarily be dominant. The brain switched in its mode of functioning to something altogether more anarchic. It will be fascinating to follow up on these insights in the years to come. Psychedelics are proving to be extremely powerful scientific tools for furthering our understanding of how brain activity relates to conscious experience.” [B]Reference[/B]: Timmermann C, Roseman L, Haridas S [I]et al. [/I]Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI. [I]PNAS[/I]. 2023; 120: e2218949120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2218949120. [I]This article is a rework of a [URL='https://www.newswise.com/articles/advanced-brain-imaging-study-hints-at-how-dmt-psychedelic-alters-perception-of-reality']press release[/URL] issued by Imperial College London. Material has been edited for length and content. [/I] Correction: The image description erroneously suggested that [I]Banisteriopsis caapi[/I] is a natural source of DMT in ayahuasca. Instead, it is a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that extend the psychedelic experience. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Share this page
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Sponsors
Forums
Mental Health
Study Reveals DMT’s Effects on the Human Brain in Unprecedented Detail
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top