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

Carla Pallavicini, Federico Cavanna, Federico Zamberlan, Laura A de la Fuente, Yayla Ilksoy, Yonatan S Perl, Mauricio Arias, Celeste Romero, Robin Carhart-Harris, Christopher Timmermann, Enzo Tagliazucchi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)406-420
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Volume35
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Administration, Inhalation
  • Adult
  • Biological Availability
  • Consciousness Disorders/chemically induced
  • Drug Monitoring/methods
  • Electroencephalography/methods
  • Female
  • Hallucinogens/administration & dosage
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mysticism/psychology
  • N,N-Dimethyltryptamine/administration & dosage
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Personality Inventory
  • Psychometrics/methods
  • Relaxation Therapy/methods
  • Self Concept
  • Self Report
  • Wireless Technology

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