The Mystery

The development of a prolonged N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) experience would be an important step towards allowing for a closer study of its phenomenology and neurobiological effects, and would make it possible to control the length, intensity, and dynamics of the DMT experience, with the potential for real-time adjustment. This could make extended DMT a valuable tool in conjunction with therapy, to tailor the psychedelic effects to the individual needs of each patient and their clinical condition, as well as for consciousness research, whereby the intensity of the DMT experience can be adjusted according to specific hypotheses and research questions. Continuous infusions of DMT were safely administered for up to 90 min and the infusion rates were reported to be determined via a previous pilot study with six subjects. However, this report lacked information on how strong and sustained these effects were over time. Another approach was proposed, aiming to generate stable subjective effe...

When ingested orally, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is rapidly metabolized in the gastrointestinal system by monoamine oxidase (MAO) which renders it psychologically inactive. In both recreational and ritual settings, DMT is commonly given in the form of ayahuasca, a brew containing DMT and harmala alkaloids that inhibit MAO, which upon oral ingestion, leads to alterations in consciousness lasting for 4–6 h. Alternatively, DMT can be inhaled (vaping/smoking), or administered parenterally (e.g., intramuscularly, or intravenously as a bolus). These forms of administration result in a very short duration of subjective effects: when administered via bolus intravenous (IV) injection, DMT’s subjective effects begin within seconds, reaching their peak intensity within 2–3 min and subsiding thereafter, with negligible effects felt after about 30 min. IV DMT administration allows for precise control over dosing, which makes it the preferred route of administration for investigating its effects i...

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring psychedelic with a mechanism of action linked to agonism at the 5-HT2A receptor. It can induce a transient and immersive altered state of consciousness, characterized by complex and vivid visual imagery, as well as somatosensory, affective and cognitive effects. Perhaps most distinctive to the experience is the frequently reported sense of immersion into what is perceived to be another world or dimension. This experience is twinned with reports of encountering ‘entities’ or ‘sentient presences’ in about half of cases. The DMT experience shares similarities with the near-death experience and is frequently deemed profound, at times leading to lasting revisions of beliefs about the nature of reality and consciousness. DMT is therefore a powerful tool for the study of consciousness. The subjective experience of immersion into a richly content-full experience, while feeling decoupled from the immediate environmental sensorium, makes DMT ...