N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-Occasioned Familiarity and the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q)
This survey study (n=227) examined respondents' sense of familiarity after inhaling DMT. The researchers also developed the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q) which categorised the sense of familiarity into five themes, with further analysis identifying two classes of participants (entity encounters familiarity, feeling & emotion or knowledge gained familiarity).
Authors
- Christopher Timmermann
Published
Abstract
This study investigated the sense of familiarity attributed to N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) experiences. 227 naturalistic inhaled-DMT experiences reporting a sense of familiarity were included. No experiences referenced a previous DMT or psychedelic experience as the source of the familiarity. A high prevalence of concomitant features discordant from ordinary consciousness were identified: features of a mystical experience (97.4%), ego-dissolution (16.3%), and a “profound experience of death” (11.0%). The Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q) was developed assessing 19 features of familiarity across 5 themes: (1) Familiarity with the Feeling, Emotion, or Knowledge Gained; (2) Familiarity with the Place, Space, State, or Environment; (3) Familiarity with the Act of Going Through the Experience; (4) Familiarity with Transcendent Features; and (5) Familiarity Imparted by an Entity Encounter. Bayesian latent class modeling yielded two stable classes of participants who shared similar SOF-Q responses. Class 1 participants responded, “yes” more often for items within “Familiarity Imparted by an Entity Encounter” and “Familiarity with the Feeling, Emotion, or Knowledge Gained.” Results catalogued features of the sense of familiarity imparted by DMT, which appears to be non-referential to a previous psychedelic experience. Findings provide insights into the unique and enigmatic familiarity reported during DMT experiences and offer a foundation for further exploration into this intriguing phenomenon.
Research Summary of 'N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-Occasioned Familiarity and the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q)'
Introduction
N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) produces intense subjective effects that have been characterised in both experimental and naturalistic studies, including vivid visual phenomena, encounters with autonomous entities, mystical-type experiences, ego-dissolution and reports of entering alternate realities. Earlier work has explored these features primarily in the context of ayahuasca or laboratory administration and has noted apparent overlaps between DMT experiences and non-drug states such as near-death experiences, meditative states and religious experiences. One phenomenological feature that has been observed anecdotally and in prior qualitative work but not yet systematically studied is a pronounced sense of familiarity during DMT sessions; previous analyses reported such familiarity in subsets of experiences, yet no study to date had been dedicated to cataloguing its specific characteristics or developing an instrument to measure it. Lawrence and colleagues set out to characterise the phenomenology of DMT-occasioned familiarity and to construct a brief instrument, the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q), to document its features. Using a large naturalistic sample of inhaled-DMT trip reports, the study aimed to identify recurring elements of the reported familiarity, estimate their co-occurrence with other notable features (for example, mystical experiences and ego-dissolution), and explore whether distinct subgroups of respondents share similar familiarity profiles via latent class modelling. The work is positioned as a descriptive, inductive investigation intended to support further empirical and psychometric research on this enigmatic phenomenon.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Author
- APA Citation
Lawrence, D. W., DiBattista, A. P., & Timmermann, C. (2024). N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-Occasioned Familiarity and the Sense of Familiarity Questionnaire (SOF-Q). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 56(4), 443-455. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2023.2230568
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