Neuroimaging & Brain MeasuresEquity and EthicsDMT

Neural and subjective effects of inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine in natural settings

Using wireless EEG and psychometric questionnaires in 35 experienced participants in natural settings, inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine acutely reduced alpha (8–12 Hz) power across the scalp while increasing delta (1–4 Hz) and gamma (30–40 Hz) power, with gamma global synchrony and metastability rising as alpha measures fell. Gamma power increases correlated with mystical-type subjective reports, suggesting candidate EEG markers of such experiences and endorsing the value of field research on psychedelics.

Authors

  • Enzo Tagliazucchi
  • Robin Carhart-Harris
  • Christopher Timmermann

Published

Journal of Psychopharmacology
individual Study

Abstract

Background

N,N-dimethyltryptamine is a short-acting psychedelic tryptamine found naturally in many plants and animals. Few studies to date have addressed the neural and psychological effects of N,N-dimethyltryptamine alone, either administered intravenously or inhaled in freebase form, and none have been conducted in natural settings.

Aims

Our primary aim was to study the acute effects of inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine in natural settings, focusing on questions tuned to the advantages of conducting field research, including the effects of contextual factors (i.e. “set“ and “setting“), the possibility of studying a comparatively large number of subjects, and the relaxed mental state of participants consuming N,N-dimethyltryptamine in familiar and comfortable settings.

Methods

We combined state-of-the-art wireless electroencephalography with psychometric questionnaires to study the neural and subjective effects of naturalistic N,N-dimethyltryptamine use in 35 healthy and experienced participants.

Results

We observed that N,N-dimethyltryptamine significantly decreased the power of alpha (8–12 Hz) oscillations throughout all scalp locations, while simultaneously increasing power of delta (1–4 Hz) and gamma (30–40 Hz) oscillations. Gamma power increases correlated with subjective reports indicative of some features of mystical-type experiences. N,N-dimethyltryptamine also increased global synchrony and metastability in the gamma band while decreasing those measures in the alpha band.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with previous studies of psychedelic action in the human brain, while at the same time the results suggest potential electroencephalography markers of mystical-type experiences in natural settings, thus highlighting the importance of investigating these compounds in the contexts where they are naturally consumed.

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Research Summary of 'Neural and subjective effects of inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine in natural settings'

Introduction

Pallavicini and colleagues situate their study within the recent resurgence of human research on serotonergic psychedelics, noting that prior laboratory work with compounds such as psilocybin, LSD and DMT has repeatedly reported broadband reductions in spontaneous oscillatory activity (particularly alpha-band) and increased signal diversity, alongside altered functional connectivity on fMRI. The authors highlight that most existing neurophysiological data come from controlled clinical or imaging settings, which limit ecological validity because psychedelic experiences are highly sensitive to 'set' (internal state) and 'setting' (external environment). They argue that naturalistic field investigations can capture contextual influences that laboratory experiments typically cannot, and that advances in mobile EEG make such recordings feasible. This study set out to characterise the acute neural and subjective effects of inhaled freebase DMT consumed in participants' preferred, self-chosen settings. The investigators combined wireless 24-channel EEG recordings with a battery of validated psychometric instruments to examine spectral power, signal diversity and measures of functional synchrony, and to relate these neural measures to detailed assessments of the subjective experience and of contextual factors such as intention, social setting and preparation.

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Study Details

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