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Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

nature.com

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Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#191

Post by collyw »

foolfoolz wrote: post #31
undefined3840 wrote: post #22

I really want to try DMT but terrified to do that without professional help nearby e.g. on an Ayahuasca retreat. I have experienced both LSD and shrooms but have heard DMT is on another level.

DMT is far less risky than LSD and Shrooms. It lasts 10-15 minutes and you are mostly in awe of what you experience. Lsd/shrooms give you hours to self reflect in good or bad spots and entangle your thoughts in good or bad spots... i’d say DMT is far easier to experience than a full on acid trip

Ayahuasca last a lot longer and the active ingredient is DMT.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#192

Post by AnthonBerg »

birdyrooster wrote: post #175
AnthonBerg wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conversely, three lines is quite enough to misunderstand things on purpose and put people down for little reason. Good luck and maybe consider seeing a therapist and show them these posts.

I am sorry for writing that so condescendingly but it was not an intentional misread. I also see nothing wrong with talking with our therapists. Maybe that is shameful for some but it’s totally cool. Sometimes to be good to each other we have to be honest in ways which are not comfortable.

I think we’re actually on the same page to a great degree :) Thank you - sincerely - for a refreshingly honest and comfortably reckless exhange.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#193

Post by EamonnMR »

phaedrus wrote: post #43
FailMore wrote: post #10

> Decreased alpha power is a particularly consistent finding in neuroimaging research with psychedelics7,8,11. Alpha is the most prominent rhythm of the resting-brain, particularly in humans, and particularly in adulthood30. Alpha has been linked with high-level psychological functioning31,32, top-down predictive processing18,33 and related feedback connectivity34 - all of which have been found to be disrupted under…

Interesting! When you say executive functions, could ADHD be linked in a way to this? When I "zone out" it feels like REM dreaming while awake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_wave

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#194

Post by monktastic1 »

hosh wrote: post #131
undersuit wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't done Ayahuasca or DMT but in my experiences with hallucinogens I occasionally meet a Neanderthal who is quite skilled in walking me through my trip while on Psilocybin Mushrooms.

Yeah, my understanding is that psilocybin has its own thing. Like an intergalactic internet. Your experience with your guide reminds me a bit of Hank Wesselman's experiences, written up in his memoirs.

I am reminded of this:

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=694095

> I too can corroborate that shrooms "come with a built-in shaman"

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#195

Post by monktastic1 »

sixQuarks wrote: post #24
undefined3840 wrote: post #22

I really want to try DMT but terrified to do that without professional help nearby e.g. on an Ayahuasca retreat. I have experienced both LSD and shrooms but have heard DMT is on another level.

I don't see how DMT can be on another level. LSD is already in another dimension. How much more freaky can it get?

It really depends on how much you do. On a sufficient dose of LSD or mushrooms, you can lose all connection with physical reality for (what seems like) eons, and "travel to" (or construct?) arbitrarily weird places. But for those substances, it may require more careful setup (quiet, dark room, eyeshades). With DMT you don't have much choice.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#196

Post by monktastic1 »

empath75 wrote: post #63
jasonxxx wrote: post #4

Interestingly enough, they learned that increased neural signal diversity resulted, and when someone was "peaking" on DMT the brain was also lit up significantly. This is akin to the research found in dreams and R.E.M. but it's still rather inconclusive as to whether or not inducing such activity in the mind results in the associated conscious experience. Many materialists believe this to be the case, but this does n…

It seems difficult to say the least to maintain a non materialist point of view in the face of all the evidence that chemicals alter mental state.

Why? If this reality is (something like) a dream, it wouldn't be all that strange if the dream contents (drugs, brains) behaved in ways commensurate with what's going on in "reality" (the mind of God or whatever), without those dream contents being the cause.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#197

Post by fellow_human »

rocgf wrote: post #189
fellow_human wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would explain why I've been using dreams as a sort of indicator of progress for my time in therapy and working through my anxiety and depression. Certain things I've been anxious or angry about and held on to have been 'resolved' symbolically in dreams leaving me to feel a bit lighter upon waking up. Also just in general my nightmares have gotten less, the more I've been able to work through anxiety.

What you are saying is pretty much in line with what Matthew Walker is presenting as a hypothesis for the role of dreams in his book "Why we sleep". I have no training in the field, nor am I particularly well read on the topic, but I thought you might like a confirmation that this is not just an anecdote.

Thank you for going to the effort of letting me know that. I will be checking out the book. Knowledge can definitely be power when healing.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#198

Post by scaphandre »

et2o wrote: post #117

Why do scientific reports papers keep getting posted to HN? SR are like fatally flawed throwaway papers that take a lot of domain knowledge to interpret. This is the exact opposite of what a general audience like HN should be reading.

Nature's 'Scientific Reports' journal does indeed have a different editorial priority than other journals. The peer reviewers are instructed to evaluate scientific validity, not their own idea of importance. This is seen as advantageous by many scientists, who perhaps want to avoid getting stuck in the dice-roll crapshoot of peer review politics.

It seems like an incorrect mischaracterization to say they are all fatally flawed throwaway papers, no?

It's a commonly used journal, and a reasonable impact factor of 4. It's not like this is a predatory journal or a complete bullshit journal.

Do you have more information on why you don't like SR?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Reports

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#199

Post by dwaltrip »

LinuxBender wrote: post #45
pfundstein wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're asking whether DMT facilitates some kind of metaphysical communication, the answer is no. However, it's possible that a common environment or shared experience before or during the trip could seed similar or related experiences.

The reason I ask is that Graham Hancock in an interview on Joe Rogan was saying that specifically Ayahuasca would allow people to see the same thing, exact same events, whereas DMT would not. Perhaps I misunderstood what he meant. He seemed to imply there was something intrinsically different about the way that was prepared and used traditionally and how it affected people. He seemed to imply it connected people.

There is no known mechanism by which DMT can connect people any differently than any other powerful experience that people have similarly had at some point.

Re: Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG

#200

Post by dwaltrip »

teh_infallible wrote: post #58
LinuxBender wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it true that multiple people tripping on it at the same time, in different rooms, see the same things, events and even people in their trip? I've never tried any psychedelics, but if there were any truth to what I have heard, it would be a fascinating topic to study while monitoring brainwave activity.

Yes. This absolutely happens. What was strange for me was looking at clouds while tripping and pointing out all the things I saw in the clouds. My companion saw all the same things. There’s no way a sober person would have seen any of it.

But of course this by no means that some sort of unknown communication between your brains was occuring. Having your perception altered in a similar way could simply cause people to see similar patterns.
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