Network control energy reductions under DMT relate to serotonin receptors, signal diversity, and subjective experience.
Communications biology – April 18, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Psychedelic compound DMT reduces the energy needed for the brain to shift between different states, revealing fascinating links between brain chemistry and consciousness. Researchers tracked brain activity in 14 people during brief but intense DMT experiences. The findings showed that DMT lowered the brain's "control energy" - the effort required to change neural patterns. These energy changes matched both participants' reported intensity of experience and measured increases in brain signal complexity. Notably, the effects were strongest in brain regions rich in serotonin receptors, suggesting a direct link between the drug's chemical action and its impact on consciousness.
Abstract
Psychedelics offer a profound window into the human brain through their robust effects on perception, subjective experience, and brain activity patterns. The serotonergic psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) induces a profoundly immersive altered state of consciousness lasting under 20 min, allowing the entire experience to be captured during a single functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Using network control theory, we map energy trajectories of 14 individuals undergoing fMRI during DMT and placebo. We find that global control energy is reduced after DMT injection compared to placebo. Longitudinal trajectories of global control energy correlate with longitudinal trajectories of electroencephalography (EEG) signal diversity (a measure of entropy) and subjective drug intensity ratings. At the regional level, spatial patterns of DMT's effects on these metrics correlate with serotonin 2a receptor density from positron emission tomography (PET) data. Using receptor distribution and pharmacokinetic information, we recapitulate DMT's effects on global control energy trajectories, demonstrating control models can predict pharmacological effects on brain dynamics.