PsyArXiv
May 27, 2026
preprint
High-dose DMT experiences often involve encounters with seemingly autonomous entities, usually considered hallucinations. This paper explores an alternative hypothesis using the conscious realism framework, where reality is a network of conscious agents and perception is a limited interface. DMT may perturb this interface, allowing access to normally imperceptible agents. The framework distinguishes hallucinations from experiences with stable, structured dynamics consistent with agent interactions. Testable predictions and experiments are proposed to assess if DMT experiences can be externally constrained or show intersubjective correlations, with implications for understanding perception and reality.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 23, 2026
Joanna Kuc, Rosalind G McAlpine, Amelia Sellers et al.
A short-acting psychedelic, 5-MeO-DMT, shifts speech from external focus to introspection. In 29 participants who kept daily voice journals two weeks before and after a single 12 mg dose, language analysis showed increased cognitive words and fewer social words, while vocal quality changed with more jitter and shimmer. Baseline speech patterns predicted how prepared people felt, the intensity of emotional breakthrough, and later well-being. This is the first longitudinal study showing that vocal journaling can track and predict psychological transformation around a psychedelic retreat, offering a framework for monitoring preparation and integration periods.
Research Square
May 20, 2026
The paper explores the relationships among DMT-induced experiences, psychosis, healing, mystical experiences, and positive emotionality. It examines how DMT can serve as a model for psychosis and as a therapeutic tool, while also considering the overlap between these models and mystical experiences. The authors discuss the potential for DMT to induce states resembling psychosis but also to facilitate healing and positive emotional outcomes, suggesting that the context and set and setting are crucial in determining whether the experience leads to distress or well-being.
DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))
May 12, 2026
Javier Calleja‐conde, Víctor Echeverry‐alzate, Marina Sanz-Sancristóbal et al.
Parkinson's disease involves progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway, along with brain inflammation. Current medications only manage symptoms. This preclinical study tested N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the active compound in ayahuasca, which activates serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (causing hallucinogenic effects) and sigma-1 receptors linked to neuroprotection. DMT treatment produced molecular changes in the nigrostriatal pathway indicating reduced neuroinflammation and preserved neurons. Behavioral tests also showed symptom improvement. These results suggest DMT may modify disease progression in Parkinson's disease, supporting further research.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
May 5, 2026
Povilas Tarailis, Inga Griskova-Bulanova
preprint
Frequency-resolved EEG microstate analysis can detect changes in brain dynamics that broadband analysis misses. In two public datasets, psilocybin microdosing produced subtle, frequency-specific effects—reduced global field power and altered delta- and theta-band microstate parameters—without broadband spatiotemporal changes. Acute inhaled DMT caused broader alterations across broadband, delta, theta, and alpha activity, indicating more extensive reorganization. In both conditions, delta-band microstate C showed increased duration and microstate D decreased occurrence, though these overlaps should be interpreted cautiously due to differences in dose, route, and context. The findings suggest frequency-resolved analysis is useful for characterizing altered resting-state brain dynamics.
bioRxiv
May 4, 2026
Inhalation of DMT, a serotonergic psychedelic, produces a brief surge in sympathetic nervous system activity—heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration—that closely tracks the intensity of the emotional experience. Nineteen participants received 20 or 40 mg of DMT under a semi-naturalistic blinded design. Higher doses caused heart rate and breathing to increase within the first two minutes, while skin conductance rose only later, indicating a prolonged autonomic response. As the drug's effects waned, feelings of pleasantness and bliss emerged. Combining simple physiological measures with moment-by-moment self-reports offers a way to objectively characterize psychedelic-induced emotional states, which may aid future clinical biomarker research.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 2, 2026
Zarmeen Zahid, Rick J Strassman, Clifford R Qualls et al.
Blocking the 5-HT1A receptor with pindolol before giving a low dose of DMT to experienced hallucinogen users intensified the drug's subjective effects, with a moderate effect size. Blood pressure also increased shortly after DMT administration, while heart rate was unchanged. The findings suggest that 5-HT1A receptor activity normally dampens the subjective effects of psychedelics, pointing to a functional role for this receptor in shaping the psychedelic experience.
European Stroke Journal
May 1, 2026
Anna Zsigmond, Rita Frank, Botond Eröss et al.
In acute ischemic stroke, spreading depolarizations worsen neuronal injury. The sigma-1 receptor agonist dimethyltryptamine (DMT) reduced the cortical area affected by spreading depolarizations in both wild-type and sigma-1 receptor knockout mice (53.3% vs. 65.7% in wild-type, 42.1% vs. 61.0% in knockout). In knockout animals only, DMT also reduced the area under the curve of depolarizations (299.9 vs. 543.3 mV·s) and their propagation velocity (2.6 vs. 3.8 mm/min). NeuN-positive cell numbers tended to increase with DMT. Surprisingly, DMT was more effective in knockout mice, indicating its neuroprotective effects involve aminergic receptors alongside sigma-1 receptor activation, supporting potential adjuvant use in stroke treatment.
SLEEP
May 1, 2026
Denise Vidot, Bria-Necole Diggs, Amrit Baral et al.
Among daily cannabis consumers aged 18–35, about 56% reported lifetime psychedelic use, with psilocybin most common (50%), followed by LSD (29%) and DMT (3.5%). Overall, 33% had subthreshold insomnia, 3.2% moderate-severity clinical insomnia, and 1.6% severe clinical insomnia. LSD and DMT were associated with moderate-to-severe clinical insomnia: 17.7% of LSD users vs. 0.0% of non-users, and 50.0% of DMT users vs. 3.6% of non-users. Psilocybin showed no significant association. LSD users also reported more frequent sleep-related interference with daily functioning. No differences were found in cannabis use for sleep or demographics by psychedelic use.
Journal of Neurochemistry
May 1, 2026
Jannik Nicklas Eliasen, Amir Rezagholizadeh, Helene Påbøl Jacobsen et al.
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a classic psychedelic with potential anti-depressive and anti-addictive properties, alters the electrical activity of certain neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the mouse brain, with effects differing by sex. In an ex vivo study on I_h-negative neurons, a low concentration (500 nM) of DMT had no effect on electrophysiological properties in either sex. A high concentration (90 μM) increased action potential firing and changed membrane conductance at subthreshold potentials, but only in female neurons. DMT also raised cytosolic calcium levels in both sexes at the high concentration. The findings suggest that DMT activates mechanisms in females beyond the calcium changes seen in males, highlighting the importance of sex and dose in understanding its therapeutic potential.