Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
This review (2018) examines the biosynthesis routes of DMT alongside its pharmacology, metabolism, adverse effects, and potential use in medicine.
Abstract
Though relatively obscure, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an important molecule in psychopharmacology as it is the archetype for all indole-containing serotonergic psychedelics. Its structure can be found embedded within those of better-known molecules such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin. Unlike the latter two compounds, DMT is ubiquitous, being produced by a wide variety of plant and animal species. It is one of the principal psychoactive components of ayahuasca, a tisane made from various plant sources that have been used for centuries. Furthermore, DMT is one of the few psychedelic compounds produced endogenously by mammals, and its biological function in human physiology remains a mystery. In this review, we cover the synthesis of DMT as well as its pharmacology, metabolism, adverse effects, and potential use in medicine. Finally, we discuss the history of DMT in chemical neuroscience and why this underappreciated molecule is so important to the field of psychedelic science.
Research Summary of 'Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)'
Introduction
Cameron frames N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) as a historically used, chemically simple but pharmacologically important indole-containing psychedelic. The introduction reviews its long-standing use in South American religious preparations such as ayahuasca, notes that DMT produces intense hallucinogenic effects at modest doses (historically cited above 0.2 mg/kg), and highlights its ubiquity in plants and animals as well as its status as one of the few psychedelics produced endogenously in mammals. The author emphasises that while ayahuasca has been associated with antidepressant and anxiolytic effects, regulatory restrictions on DMT (Schedule I in many jurisdictions) have constrained research. This review sets out to collate and synthesise knowledge about DMT, covering its biosynthesis and chemical synthesis, pharmacology and receptor binding, metabolism and pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, evidence for endogenous production, psychoplastogenic properties, and potential medical applications. Cameron also intends to place DMT in a historical context within chemical neuroscience and to identify remaining questions about its physiological roles and therapeutic promise.
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Cameron, L. P., & Olson, D. E. (2018). Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 9(10), 2344-2357. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00101
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