Your Brain Can Makes DMT — And Probably More Than You Think!

Описание: Do mammalian brains synthesize DMT? Outside of the pineal gland? This 8-min micro-lecture explores this reality, as addressed in Dean et al's 2019 publication "Biosynthesis and extracellular concentrations of DMT in the mammalian brain."

WARNING: This video summarizes findings obtained from animal research. While most animal researchers deeply respect the animals they work with and uphold the highest measures to ensure animal safety and wellness, it must be noted that the animals used in this research were not able to give their consent to be used in this way and those sensitive to animal research may find the research this video shares activating.

In 2019, scientists dropped a bombshell: The mammalian brain isn’t just capable of producing DMT — it may be making it at levels similar to actual neurotransmitters. This video dives into the study that changed everything.

Researchers found that two key enzymes, INMT and AADC, are working together in the same neurons in the rat cortex and pineal gland — a biochemical pairing almost never seen outside the brain. That means the machinery to make DMT isn’t just present… it’s active.

The ABILITY for rat cortical cells to synthesize DMT does not mean - though - that these cells DO synthesize DMT. Moreover, it is possible that these cells synthesize DMT -- but don't release it (which would largely nullify its presence).

So, researchers measured extracellular DMT (e.g., DMT released by cortical cells) in the cortex of living rats -- with and without pineal glands.

They discovered extracellular levels of DMT in the rat cortex that were on par with those associated with serotonin - in rats with and without pineal glands (suggesting the DMT was synthesized IN cortical neurons, not in the pineal gland).

DMT has been implicated in the mystical states associated with near death experienecs. To test this possilbity, cardiac arrest was induced in rats with- and without pineal glands and extracellular DMT was measured in the cortex during this process.

Findings? DMT levels spiked dramatically in the visual cortex during cardiac arrest - in rats with and without pineal glands, hinting at a possible connection to the vivid experiences reported during near‑death states.

The study didn’t stop with rats. By identifying the same enzyme transcripts in human brain tissue, the authors suggest DMT might function as a non‑canonical neurotransmitter — a signaling molecule hiding in plain sight -- in rodents and humans.

These findings challenge decades of assumptions that endogenous DMT comes only from the pineal gland, and only in trace amounts. Instead, these findings sugest DMT can be synthesized in the cortex and choroid plexus as well as in the pineal gland -- and that that DMT IS synthesized in these regions (at least in the cortex).

These findins also implicate DMT in mystical-type experiences and end of life processes.

So the next big question is: Why? Why might DMT be released right before death? (Please share your thoughts in comments below)!!

If you’re curious about consciousness, near‑death experiences, or the hidden chemistry of the mind, this video takes you right to the frontier.

Dean, J.G, Liu, T., Huff, S., Sheler, B., Barker, S.A., Strassman, R.J., Wang, M.M., Borjigin, J. (2019). Biosynthesis and Extracellular Concentrations of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Mammalian Brain.

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