Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT

Lisa X. Luan*, Emma Eckernas, Michael Ashton, Fernando E. Rosas, Malin Uthaug, Alexander Bartha, Samantha Jagger, Kiara Gascon-Perai, Lauren Gomes, David J. Nutt, David Erritzoe, Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Christopher Timmermann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic that induces a rapid and transient altered state of consciousness when inhaled or injected via bolus administration. Its marked and novel subjective effects make DMT a powerful tool for the neuroscientific study of consciousness and preliminary results show its potential role in treating mental health conditions. In a within-subjects, placebo-controlled study, we investigated a novel method of DMT administration involving a bolus injection paired with a constant-rate infusion, with the goal of extending the DMT experience. Pharmacokinetic parameters of DMT estimated from plasma data of a previous study of bolus intravenous DMT were used to derive dose regimens necessary to keep subjects in steady levels of immersion into the DMT experience over an extended period of 30 min, and four dose regimens consisting of a bolus loading dose and a slow-rate infusion were tested in eleven healthy volunteers (seven male, four female, mean age +/- SD = 37.09 +/- 8.93 years). The present method is effective for extending the DMT experience in a stable and tolerable fashion. While subjective effects were maintained over the period of active infusion, anxiety ratings remained low and heart rate habituated within 15 min, indicating psychological and physiological safety of extended DMT. Plasma DMT concentrations increased consistently starting 10 min into DMT administration, whereas psychological effects plateaued into the desired steady state, suggesting the development of acute psychological tolerance to DMT. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of continuous IV DMT administration, laying the groundwork for the further development of this method of administration for basic and clinical research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-67
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Volume38
Issue number1
Early online date28 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2024

Keywords

  • Psychedelics
  • dimethyltryptamine
  • serotonin
  • ayahuasca
  • consciousness
  • N,N-DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE
  • PSYCHEDELICS
  • PROPOFOL
  • STATES

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