DMT: The Spirit Molecule That Keeps Amazing Us
Research suggests that this powerful psychoactive chemical could be produced within our brains.
N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is one of the most powerful psychedelic compounds in the world. It’s the psychoactive ingredient in Ayahuasca, a brew mixture of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria Viridis bush, traditionally used by indigenous people for sacred religious ceremonies.
Scientific analysis of the B. caapi vine showed that it is rich in β-carbolines alkaloids (B-CA), which protect the DMT from degrading in the intestine and liver, while the P. Viridis leaves contain the psychoactive substance DMT.
DMT belongs to a class of serotonergic psychedelics like psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), eliciting a wide spectrum of subjective effects on brain functions such as cognition and perception. These psychedelic compounds exert their effect by binding to serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptors in the brain and setting off powerful responses.
Unlike other psychedelics, DMT is produced endogenously — produced within the body — in animals and humans. Moreover, DMT has also a well-documented neural plasticity-promoting, anti-hypoxic, and antidepressant effect, even when using microdoses of DMT, when administered exogenously. In addition, DMT has been used in clinical trials for treating depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Taking all these facts together, you can comprehend why researchers are interested in studying DMT.
This was exactly the thought of researcher Dr. Jon Dean, Ph.D., of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and lead author of the paper titled, “Biosynthesis and Extracellular Concentrations of N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Mammalian Brain”, published in Scientific Reports.
Dr. Jon Dean said:
“There is this compound that’s floating around in humans. That’s relatively understudied and is one of the most powerful psychedelics there is. The fact that something like that is floating around in our body, even if it is doing nothing is very intriguing. What does that mean for reality? What does that mean for how the brain works? We don’t know.”
DMT is always believed to be produced in trace amounts that its presence was inconsequential to human consciousness. However, the 2019 publication led by Dr. Jon Dean and Dr. Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, turns this whole scientific belief on its head.
There are 3 groundbreaking discoveries to this paper:
- DMT was found in levels comparable to serotonin in the visual cortex of rats and significantly increased following cardiac arrest.
- The two enzymes, INMT and AADC, which are responsible for DMT synthesis occur in the same nerve cell.
- Brain measurements showed a 600% increase in DMT levels in the visual cortex after induced cardiac arrest in rodent models.
DMT was found in levels comparable to serotonin
To answer the question if endogenous DMT levels do reach psychologically pertinent concentrations, the researchers put a probe directly into the brain of a living rat. By using high-performance liquid chromatography, a technique used in analytical chemistry to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture, they compared the levels of DMT and serotonin. The researchers found the following results:
- DMT was found in levels comparable to serotonin in the rat visual cortex and significantly increased following cardiac arrest.
- DMT was still detectable in the rat visual cortex following removal of the pineal gland.
- The pineal gland is not necessary for DMT biosynthesis in rat brains.
Even more surprisingly, the baseline DMT concentrations are well within the known range of all three canonical monoamine neuromodulators, i.e., serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. However, the function and mechanism of cortical DMT production remain to be fully investigated.
The significance of DMT being found at levels comparable to serotonin and dopamine is found in just how vital these neuromodulators are in everyday life.
Serotonin influences various biological processes such as eating, sleeping, learning, memory, cognition, and it is a natural mood stabilizer. Low levels of serotonin are associated with anxiety, depression, and insomnia, while people with normal levels report feeling calmer, happier, and more focused.
Dopamine is released in the brain not only when the brain expects a reward, what everyone thinks, but also during the pursuit of rewards. Dopamine in normal amounts helps with motivation, focus, feelings of euphoria, happiness, and alertness.
So the big question is: Why is DMT present in the mammalian brain at levels comparable to dopamine and serotonin?
I’ll come back to this question later in this article.
DMT synthesis occur in the same nerve cell
To understand and measure molecules like serotonin or DMT, understanding and measuring the biosynthesis of these neurochemicals via the enzymes that produce them is crucial.
Enzymes are built from folded proteins that allow the body to convert raw material from the environment into chemicals the body needs to function. To understand the biosynthesis of DMT, the research team first began looking at the enzymes aromatic-L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) and indolethylamine-N-methyltransferase (INMT).
Both enzymes convert the amino acid tryptophan all the way to DMT and this is what triggered the second groundbreaking findings of this study:
- The mRNA transcripts of the enzyme INMT were identified in the cerebral cortex, pineal gland, and choroid plexus of both rats and humans.
- Both DMT biosynthetic genes are colocalized in rat brain tissues. Very high expression levels of both enzymes in the pineal gland, choroid plexus, and cerebral cortex were found.
The first finding shows that even in tissues of the human brain one of the enzymes needed for the biosynthesis of DMT is present in the human brain.
Moreover, both the enzymes which are responsible for DMT synthesis occur in the same nerve cells in the brain of rats. Due to these findings, we can definitely say that DMT is synthesized in the mammalian brain.
Another huge step in the process is to understand this powerful psychoactive molecule.
600% increase in DMT levels after cardiac arrest
Yes, you read that right.
Based on earlier research where elevated levels of some critical neuromodulators were observed in rat brains during cardiac arrest, Dr. Jon Doe and his team also induced a cardiac arrest in rats and observed an astonishing 600% increase in DMT levels in the visual cortex.
Could this explain the incredibly visual and psychedelic-like experiences people report after near-death experiences?
The authors of this paper reported:
“The cardiac arrest-induced increase of endogenous DMT release may be related to near-death experiences (NDEs), as a recent study reports NDE-like mental states in human subjects given exogenous DMT. Not all rats in our current study exhibited a surge of DMT following cardiac arrest, an interesting observation in light of the fact that NDEs are reported by less than 20% of patients who survive cardiac arrests.”
DMT also has the ability to protect neurons from dying. When an animal has a cardiac arrest, DMT levels increase 600%, not to give the individual a psychedelic-like experience but to protect the neurons from dying from the lack of oxygen.
Let’s go back to the big question.
Why is DMT present in the mammalian brain at levels comparable to dopamine and serotonin?
Dr. Rick Strassman, MD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, a pioneer in DMT research, and author of the book ‘DMT: The spirit molecule’ hypothesized the following:
“This point to or indicates the possibility of the existence of a DMT neurotransmitter system. What would the role be? What is the hallmark of the DMT experience? People come out of it and they say that it was more real than real. So there is a profound sense of certainty and truth which is associated with elevated brain levels of DMT. If you wanted to speculate wildly one could argue that the DMT neurotransmitter system mediates our sense of reality.”
If Dr. Strassman is right, this would be one of the groundbreaking discoveries of the 21st century. This could mean that our perceived reality is just an illusion.
In the quest to discover the function of endogenous DMT, I want to shed light on one unpublished study out of Lousiana State University.
Dr. Steven Barker administered LSD to rats and measured the levels of endogenous 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), and N, N-DMT. They observed a 10-fold increase in the levels of 5-MeO-DMT and a 4-fold increase in N, N-DMT. Dr. Barker hypothesized the following:
“This suggests that there is an endogenous hallucinogen neuronal system and that many hallucinogens may not actually be true hallucinogens but endogenous hallucinogen neuronal system agonists. That they stimulate the release of these endogenous hallucinogens which then carry out their function on perception”
Unfortunately, these results have never been published due to the lack of funding for psychedelic research. However, Dr. Jimo Borjigin and Ph.D. student Nicolas Glynos from the University of Michigan are going to repeat a similar study to see if endogenous DMT increases after administration of LSD or psilocybin.
In conclusion, Dr. Joe Dean and his colleagues presented evidence that the rat brain is capable of synthesizing DMT in nerve cells. Furthermore, the rat brain is capable of releasing DMT at concentrations comparable to known neuromodulators indicating that endogenous DMT may influence brain functions.
Further research is needed to investigate if the human brain is also capable of synthesizing and releasing endogenous DMT. To understand the foundation of consciousness, rigorous psychedelic research is necessary to give an answer to the most important questions in Neuroscience.
It will take some funding. It will take some time. It will take some work. But we will get there.
“It is possible that I am dreaming right now and that all of my perceptions are false” ~ René Descartes
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