The hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine—better known as DMT—is used commonly to initiate vivid visions, remarkable feelings, near-death experiences and even to contact interdimensional beings. The psychedelic compound is found in various plants including Psychotria viridis, which is used to brew ayahuasca—a spiritual medicine utilized by Indigenous people in the Amazon basin. Only recently have scientists scanned and studied brain activity during a DMT trip. For their research, scientists used “brain-imaging (fMRI) and EEG to study the effects of the drug on 20 individuals” and found “increased connectivity across the brain, and more communication between different areas and systems.” Essentially, these feelings of functioning on a higher level make sense. Chris Timmerman, of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London tells VICE’s Motherboard, “We found that DMT generated a prominent alteration of the brain’s evolved areas and networks, which have been linked to human brain expansion in evolution, language, and semantics… These findings were related also to EEG effects which directly assess electrical activity induced by the brain, thus confirming them further.” Read more about the study at VICE.
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