DMT On The Brain

For nearly 50 years, a theory has lingered in the background of psychiatric research: that the human body might naturally produce a molecule capable of slowing down a brain enzyme linked to hallucinations.

Now, researchers in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy are revisiting that forgotten science. Their goal is to identify and characterize a natural 'brake pedal' in the brain — one that could open the door to a new class of drugs for the production of endogenous DMT.

The 'brake pedal' McCurdy’s team is investigating is a naturally occurring molecule that may slow the activity of an enzyme called indolethylamine N-methyltransferase, or INMT, which helps produce the powerful psychedelic compound dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, in the body.

A 1977 study suggested tiny proteins in the body could block the enzyme, but the research stopped there. Nearly 50 years later, UF researchers are revisiting that early work in hopes of replicating it.

“If we can characterize the inhibitor protein of this enzyme, and it turns out to be something new, that is pretty significant in the development of new schizophrenia drugs,” McCurdy said. “If it turns out to be a peptide that is already built but has a different function, that would be interesting as well.”

McCurdy’s research is backed by the Florida-based nonprofit Noonautics, which has committed over $400,000 to support a one-year study on INMT inhibitors.

“This project is the first step on a path to unravelling decades-long unresolved questions surrounding the mechanisms that underlie the production of endogenous DMT,” said Patrick Struhar, D.C., founder and director of Noonautics. “We are excited to work with Dr. McCurdy and his team, who are world leaders in this type of biochemical research, to help turn this challenging but potentially groundbreaking research into reality.”

Andrew Gallimore, Ph.D., director of Noonautics, believes that this work could have transformative implications both for the treatment of neuropsychological disorders and for the exploration of highly unusual altered states of consciousness.

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