Thread: Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) as possible source of dream activity?

I am currently working on a graphic novel which is focused mainly around dreams, lucid dreaming, astral projection, and spiritual/psychedelic experience. I'm greatly interested in the endogenous molecule DMT, and have been trying to gather research on what role it may play on dreams.

Just wondering if anyone here has any useful information or links that may be of help to me?

Psychoactive compound activates mysterious receptor (Feb. 12, 2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyltryptamine
5-MeO-DMT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And off course the best stuff you will find is the actual experiences of people who take it regularily.

Beware! If you are trying to find a real scientific reason on how it effects the body you might have a hard time, many people will state things about DMT as if they are fact linking them in with OBE's, Near death experiences, Lucid Dreams, alien abductions and astral projection. The thing is hardly anything is known about what effect it truly has on dreaming or what function it plays in the body.
Now I haven't looked into DMT in particular but alot the results you will probably get are theories by spiritual people or people that dont base their knowledge on valid proven facts.

If you want a detailed explanation I'm sure the member Alyzarin would be happy to help, just send her a PM or write on her wall

I'm pretty sure there is zero scientific evidence which links DMT with dreaming (and if there is, you won't find it here). I have also spent many hours trying to find more information about endogenous DMT, and from what I've read it has never been found in the human brain, so how can it be linked to dreaming at all? The truth is, it most likely isn't. It's likely a short lived byproduct of normal metabolic processes. Make sure that any research you get is actually from scientific journals, and not speculation or merely based on people's experience or opinions, otherwise you will just be spreading more misinformation like Rick Strassman and his supposed "spirit molecule" theory which made him a ton of money but also misled the entire world into believing his speculations which (he now admits) had no scientific basis at all. If I do end up finding anything else about it, I'll post here.

Originally Posted by nina

I'm pretty sure there is zero scientific evidence which links DMT with dreaming (and if there is, you won't find it here). I have also spent many hours trying to find more information about endogenous DMT, and from what I've read it has never been found in the human brain, so how can it be linked to dreaming at all? The truth is, it most likely isn't. It's likely a short lived byproduct of normal metabolic processes. Make sure that any research you get is actually from scientific journals, and not speculation or merely based on people's experience or opinions, otherwise you will just be spreading more misinformation like Rick Strassman and his supposed "spirit molecule" theory which made him a ton of money but also misled the entire world into believing his speculations which (he now admits) had no scientific basis at all. If I do end up finding anything else about it, I'll post here.

Hmm.

Well from what I gathered reading The Spirit Molecule, he was fairly open about certain elements of the research being speculative (linking it to mystical experience, psychosis etc). But the fundamental existence of DMT in the human body seemed to be pretty definite? More research to be done but I thought it had been found in many different areas of the human body not just the pineal.....Also that the brain's usual defenses to keep out certain molecules had a sort of bypass process when it came to DMT

From what I've heard DMT is inside the human brain and it is the main reason why do we dream, although there are many other substances which takes part in the process of dreaming. DMT is also inside every animals brains and almost every plants. The fact is that there is quite big concertration of DMT (compared to other plants) in bent grass (I might be wrong about the name of that plant because I don't know its name in English ). If you extract DMT from about 1 kg of agrostis, it would be enough for 1 trip.

Here is a nice neuroscientific review of the relationship between hallucinations, dreams and waking consciousness, no mention of DMT though Hallucinations- Synchronisation of thalamocortical

DMT is secreted once in large amounts during birth, once at death in a large amount, and usually on average of 1-4 times a night in very very small amounts during the REM cycle. i'm a strong believer that DMT plays a huge part in more trippy, out of the ordinary, and sometimes even prophetic dreams. Also just like a DMT trip, on countless occasions has there been reports of the feeling of not being alone or another presence in some dreams. SWIM has experienced both phenomenons with both DMT trips and with SWIMS dream practices. IN FACT to prove SWIMS point even further... SWIM attempted smoking DMT and blasting off about ten times before doing it successfully. What was the determining factor? SWIM decided it would be a good idea to skip a night of sleep knowing SWIM was going to smoke DMT the next day. With the idea in mind that if SWIM hadn't slept and DMT is secreted in his brain in a large amount by smoking it, SWIM would be able to blast off. SWIM woke up from his first ACTUAL OBE/Blast off checking SWIMS pants to see if SWIM was SWIMMING in his own urine. Thus at least in SWIMS eyes, proving the fact that DMT does in fact have something to do with both dreaming and the Pineal gland releasing or the brain absorbing in this case... DMT. Also if SWIM recalls correctly, that evening SWIM dreamt of some absolutely amazing and out of this world things. After SWIM smoked the DMT and left his buddies house the trip started to disappear in fragments from SWIMS mind. EXACTLY like dreams slowly melt away from your memory after waking.

off to bed. i hope this helps. sweet dreams~

plants and such.

Guys, just a friendly reminder. This thread can stay alive, only if you don't discuss how to make it or how to use it.