Thread: Are there any scientists researching DMT?

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

most studies on its purpose in the body have been inconclusive

Isn't that a good reason for more studies? Everything I've I know of has been with rats except Rick Strassman's research and maybe a few others.

Originally Posted by Woodstock

Isn't that a good reason for more studies? Everything I've I know of has been with rats except Rick Strassman's research and maybe a few others.

It is if it's assumed that it does have a definite purpose in the body, but it's looking increasingly more like it likely doesn't, in my opinion anyway. And it's in the body in very small amounts, too. I'm not saying that it definitely does nothing, but there's a reason that no one is researching it. My current guess is that there's nothing particularly significant about it compared to other psychedelics, it just happens to be a subjectively strong one that's produced in the body on a technicality. The same is true of 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin because they're all chemically similar to our neurotransmitters and metabolism is a complex process.

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

It is if it's assumed that it does have a definite purpose in the body, but it's looking increasingly more like it likely doesn't, in my opinion anyway. And it's in the body in very small amounts, too.

That's disappointing...

My current guess is that there's nothing particularly significant about it compared to other psychedelics, it just happens to be a subjectively strong one that's produced in the body on a technicality. The same is true of 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin because they're all chemically similar to our neurotransmitters and metabolism is a complex process.

But all psychedelics seem significant, we could learn a lot more about our minds if they were researched more. Psychology would go a lot further very quickly. I don't know anything about chemistry, but if N,N-DMT and 5-Meo-DMT are similar to our neurotransmitters, then wouldn't lysergic acid, psilocin, and mescaline be similar too? The fact that they're similar to important parts of our brain and have the effects that they do makes me think psychedelics and meditation weren't just accidents, we were meant to use both of them.

Originally Posted by Woodstock

That's disappointing...

Yeah, DMT gets hyped up a lot.... It is what it is, though. Even Strassman said that his views on DMT in dreams and stuff were just theories from the start, not to be taken as fact, but that didn't stop people.

It is still an incredible psychedelic, though.

But all psychedelics seem significant, we could learn a lot more about our minds if they were researched more. Psychology would go a lot further very quickly. I don't know anything about chemistry, but if N,N-DMT and 5-Meo-DMT are similar to our neurotransmitters, then wouldn't lysergic acid, psilocin, and mescaline be similar too? The fact that they're similar to important parts of our brain and have the effects that they do makes me think psychedelics and meditation weren't just accidents, we were meant to use both of them.

Yes, they are all similar. Very similar, in fact. I won't go too deep into this now because there's a LOT to cover, but if you ever want to ask me about it some time, through PM or whatever, I can give a you breakdown of it all.

However, there are drugs far better suited to researching psychedelic neurochemical effects, especially speaking from a legal standpoint. Drugs that aren't Schedule I, and that are so selective in their pharmacology that they make the traditional psychedelics look downright dirty. DMT effects too many receptors to give any information that will be considered useful in the scientific community these days aside from anything regarding itself specifically (as opposed to psychedelics as a whole).

Believe me, the relationship between hallucinogens and natural experiences like meditation and OBEs is very strong, and beautifully complex. There's a reason I devoted so much time to studying it.