The DMT Antenna Hypothesis: Endogenous N,N-Dimethyltryptamine as the Molecular Substrate for the Subjective "I Am" Across Living Systems
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) – November 22, 2025
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
The DMT Antenna Hypothesis suggests that the molecule N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) acts as a bridge between biological systems and a broader consciousness field, fostering self-awareness across species. Evidence from 20 clinical cases of lobotomy indicates that disruptions in DMT-linked circuits can diminish subjective experience while leaving reflexive behaviors intact. The hypothesis proposes testable predictions regarding DMT's role in self-awareness and cognition, providing a comprehensive framework that combines neuroscience, psychology, and ancient symbolism to explore how psychedelics shape our inner lives.
Abstract
The DMT Antenna Hypothesis proposes that endogenous N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) functions as a crystalline, piezoelectric molecular transducer that couples living biological systems to a non-local integrative field, enabling the subjective experience of selfhood (“I Am”) across species. Drawing on biochemical pathways (INMT/AADC), neurochemical evidence of cortical DMT at neuromodulatory concentrations, historical clinical lobotomy data, comparative cognition in cephalopods, birds, mammals, and plants, and the convergence of ancient iconography (pine cone, Tree of Life, “handbag” motif), the paper argues that DMT-linked circuits act as a biological interface for internal representation, imagination, and identity formation. Where these circuits are intact, organisms exhibit behaviors consistent with self-modeling.Where they are severed — most clearly demonstrated in prefrontal lobotomy — the subjective inner world collapses despite preserved reflexive behavior. The hypothesis yields multiple testable predictions, including altered self-awareness with modulation of DMT synthesis, disruption of piezoelectric crystalline structures, and cross-species correlations between DMT expression and integrative cognition. This paper provides a unified biochemical, clinical, symbolic, and comparative framework for future research on consciousness, offering a falsifiable model for how endogenous psychedelics may contribute to the formation of subjective experience in living systems.