Functions of DMT in the human brain

DMT is probably the only known psychedelic that exists naturally in the brain. It plays an important in the brain as one of the chemicals that keeps the brain functioning optimally. Questions have thus lingered in the minds of psychedelic researchers for some time now in finding out whether the administration of DMT could act as a backup to the deficiency of DMT in the human brain.  It was obvious from the onset that getting answers to these questions wouldn’t be an easy task. Recent research has moved past just wanting to show that romantic scenarios of the pineal gland secreting DMT during experiences that look life-threatening. After careful considerations of individual neurons, research has shown that DMT does more work in the brain than it is given credit for. It has a significant job of acting as a neurotransmitter playing a part in shielding the brain from psychological and physical stress. Now there’s an improvement on the questions being asked initially, the question now is, what if DMT is a natural neuroprotective?  

Where it all started
Neurotransmitters are tiny little molecules released in the nervous system to convey information among thousands of neurons in the nervous system. Most of these transmitters are a family of chemical monoamines. An example of this is dopamine. The strongest naturally occurring psychedelic in (DMT) is a member of this molecular class. Little traces of N, N-dimethyltryptamine can be found in the nervous system of animals, there is no fact to prove that it can be an endogenic neurotransmitter. In plants, though it has been proven that it defends some particular plants from predatory animals, that is herbivores. 

Extraction of DMT from plants is not a new practice, it’s been done for ages. Its use is limited and thus unpopular as a result of monoamine oxidase in them. This is an enzyme that limits the use of DMT in the human digestive system. Shamans in Amazon have devised a way to navigate this for years. They succeeded in mixing DMT-containing plants with other plants/herbs that prevent the degradation of DMT to form a new mixture. The psychedelic brew produced is known as Ayahuasca. 

Some indigenous tribes in South American have the effects of using Ayahuasca looped in with spirituality. It was firstly synthesized in 1931 and since that time, its biological attributes have marveled scientists. Due to sharing similar attributes with serotonin, it has often been wrongly compared to serotonin. The human body’s DMT was found to be secreted in the pineal gland. The main job of the pineal gland is to govern sleep patterns by generating melatonin.

Theories about DMT
Psychiatrist Rick Strassman developed a theory that suggested that immense amounts of DMT could be secreted in the dying brain and it leads to a change of phase between life, death, and the next. When Strassman’s theory was adopted, the location of DMT in the pineal gland has been something of controversy. As much as it has not been separated from the human brain, tests on rats and humans have shown that the brain with the pineal gland inclusive has enveloped enzymes important for the synthesis of DMT.

The impact of DMT in near-death experiences is difficult to tell, it cannot be confirmed or otherwise, in humans, there have been such studies on rats though. A study has shown that DMT is present in the brains of rats, it is released in the body shortly after cardiac arrest is induced. Was DMT responsible for that or was DMT merely a byproduct of stressed organism? Experiments have given little insight.

It is not yet proven if DMT could be one of the neurotransmitters that get secreted in reaction to the stress-induced due to cardiac arrest such as serotonin, adrenaline, dopamine, etc. Furthermore, as much as the level of DMT rises it cannot be concluded as a result of exogenic psychedelic dose. Researchers still have split opinions on this. Some scientists attest to that end while others simply state it to be impossible to know how physiological quantities of DMT could be stored and secreted in bulk and the kind of reaction this secretion will activate. Scientific knowledge available at the moment doesn’t have the smoking gun needed to accurately point to DMT secretion as being initiated only in near-death experiences.

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