Understanding how DMT impacts brain function, behaviour, and wellbeing.
DMT: A Unique Psychedelic
Like other psychedelics, DMT significantly influences conscious experience. However, it acts exceptionally quickly, with a 'trip' lasting less than 30 minutes. This feature makes DMT uniquely suited for scanning brain activity before, during, and after its effects. We anticipate that DMT will cause substantial changes in the organisation of brain networks involved in language, memory, and vision, and these changes will correlate with lasting changes in mental well-being.
In contrast to conventional methods, we'll use innovative 'naturalistic' approaches to gain insights into the brain's behaviour on DMT. Previous works have often relied on the 'Resting-State' paradigm, a method comparing brains at rest to brains on DMT. However, we believe this method doesn't provide accurate insights into how psychedelics affect the content of consciousness. Our approach will involve comparing the brain under DMT to the brain while watching full-length movies when sober. This comparison will allow us to ascertain precisely how real-world sensory processing occurs in individuals and compare it to the internal sensory landscape induced by DMT.
Research Goals
Our research will investigate DMT's effects on the human brain and subsequent well-being in four main steps:
First, we will observe brain activity during a DMT 'trip' using fMRI scanning.
Next, we will scan the same individuals' brains a week later while they watch a movie, to pinpoint any lasting changes in brain networks after DMT use.
We will then follow up with these participants for one full year, using a mobile phone-based application to record their experiences in the real world.
Lastly, we will relate these findings to see how changes in the brain during DMT influence the subsequent organisation of brain networks and how these changes relate to long-term changes in well-being and thought patterns.
Significance of the Project
Mental health disorders, including addiction, depression, and anxiety, burden individuals and society immensely, costing billions in healthcare and lost productivity. There's a pressing need for lasting, effective treatments in our world increasingly affected by mental health issues. Psychedelic drugs could be the 'game-changers' we need, but there is a lack of well-controlled trials examining DMT's impact on brain function, mental well-being, and behaviour. To understand whether psychedelics can fulfil their early promise, we need to know how, why, and for whom these drugs 'work'. Our project aims to make significant strides towards answering these questions.
Potential Outcomes
This study will represent a major advancement in psychedelic research as the most comprehensive controlled examination using fMRI to study brain activity during a DMT experience. Additionally, it will assess the lasting impact on brain networks which underlie cognition, behaviour, and well-being. We anticipate that our findings will provide the first mechanistic insights into the broad-scale effects of psychedelic substances on the human brain, offering invaluable knowledge for the accelerated development of therapeutic applications.
The study aims to reveal, for the first time:
The acute alterations in brain network function during a DMT 'trip' and the extent of their persistence once the drug effects have subsided.
The lasting changes in mood, behaviour, and well-being induced by DMT compared to placebo.
The relationship between brain changes and self-reported modifications in mood, well-being, and quality of experience.
The possible beneficiaries of DMT-enhanced mental health treatment and the cognitive systems that should be targeted for optimum outcomes.
Furthermore, we are advocates of open science. We intend to share our data with the global research community, enabling other researchers to test their hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of psychedelic drug actions