Dimethyltryptamine
DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, is a potent hallucinogenic drug that is found in the Amazonian drink Ayahuasca. It is made using the flowering shrub of the Psychotria viridis plant. Scientists have been studying the effects of DMT on the human brain for years, and a recent study has revealed previously unreported effects of this compound.
The Study
The study was conducted by Chris Timmermann, head of the DMT research group at Imperial College London. Twenty volunteers were recruited, and each received a 20mg injection of DMT and a placebo on separate visits to the lab. The scientists recorded the brain activity of the participants before, during, and after the drug took hold of their bodies.
The Results
The results of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They provide the most advanced picture yet of the human brain on psychedelics. The recordings showed how the brain’s normal hierarchical organization breaks down, electrical activity becomes anarchic, and connectivity between regions soars, particularly those handling “higher level” functions such as imagination.
The recordings reveal a profound impact across the brain, particularly in areas that are highly evolved in humans and instrumental in planning, language, memory, complex decision-making, and imagination. The researchers believe that DMT breaks down the basic networks of the brain, causing them to become less distinct from each other.
The participants in the study described leaving this world and breaking through into another that is incredibly immersive and richly complex, sometimes being populated by other beings that they feel might hold special power over them, like gods.
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Month: Current Affairs - March, 2023
Category: Science & Technology Current Affairs