Multimodal autonomic arousal tracks dose-dependent affective dynamics during the acute effects of DMT
bioRxiv May 4, 2026 Tomás Ariel D’amelio, Tomás Gil Garbagnoli, Jerónimo Rodríguez Cuello et al.
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.