Dreaming DMT Addict

DMT grants access to otherwise invisible realms of universal consciousness, where extraterrestrial communication and confrontations with death commonly occur. When taken properly, the user launches into an ethereal journey of disembodiment, on a hyperdimensional round trip from couch to cosmic consciousness and back, all in less than 20 minutes. But mysteriously, this enigmatic substance is naturally (endogenously) produced by the human body. Sixty years after this discovery, modern science has yet to answer what may be the ultimate psychedelic question: Why do our bodies readily manufacture this potent psychedelic substance? 

Hungarian chemist and psychiatrist Stephen Szara became the first person to experience the subjective effects of synthetic DMT in 1956 through self administration. Following Szara’s discovery of DMT’s subjective effects, the leading hypothesis was that endogenous DMT may act as a 'schizotoxin'—an internal substance that causes symptoms of schizophrenia and other hallucinatory psychiatric conditions. But efforts to advance this hypothesis were abruptly halted following the sweeping legislation of The Controlled Substance Act of 1970, and research on endogenous DMT entered into a decades long silence.

DMT is present under ordinary conditions, however, which suggests that it may play a role in more every-day, non-hallucinatory functions. The revival of research has revealed that endogenous DMT may be involved in various physiological processes including hypoxic stress protection, anti-inflammation, immune responses, neuroplasticity, or dream consciousness. The truth, however, is that research on the function of endogenous DMT remains in its infancy, and we’re far from a clear understanding of its biological role(s). 

The majority of psychedelic research today focusing on therapeutic application and mechanistic action of administered psychedelics overlooks the potential DMT-mediated psychedelic system present within us all. Probing deeper into DMT’s endogenous function may shed light on how other psychedelics exert their effects, and also provide a framework to better understand aspects of naturally occurring psychedelic-like states. 

Nicolas Glynos is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan in the department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. His thesis work is focused on investigating the biology and function of endogenous (naturally produced) DMT in the mammalian brain, along with uncovering the neural correlates of the DMT experience. He is vice president of the Student Association for Psychedelic Studies at U of M, and co-founder of the interdisciplinary group Psychedelic Neuroscience & Therapy, which hosts monthly seminars from leading psychedelic researchers. Born in Kansas City, MO, he moved to Montana as an adult, and worked for several years on a backcountry trail crew in Glacier National Park. After deciding to return to school, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Botany from Cornell University in 2017, where he was recognized in the Cornell Chronicle for receiving the Young Botanist Award from the Botanical Society of America while pursuing an interest in the intersection between psychedelics and ethnobotany. He is set to complete his Ph.D. in 2023, and he plans to continue contributing to the psychedelic renaissance thereafter as a researcher and advocate. You can learn more about his recent research on DMT from the documentary DMT Quest.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vPf1EvAdEVk



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