[Review paper] Endogenous DMT and the Pineal Gland

[Cubism]

Came across an interesting new review article by David E. Nichols about N,N-DMT, the Pineal Gland and so on. Definitely worth a read if your into psychopharmacology and that sort of thing, so I thought I'd share it in case anyone is interested...

 

Access full article at scihub - https://sci-hub.tw/10.1177/0269881117736919

 

N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth
David E Nichols

Abstract
The pineal gland has a romantic history, from pharaonic Egypt, where it was equated with the eye of Horus, through various religious traditions, where
it was considered the seat of the soul, the third eye, etc. Recent incarnations of these notions have suggested that N,N-dimethyltryptamine is secreted
by the pineal gland at birth, during dreaming, and at near death to produce out of body experiences. Scientific evidence, however, is not consistent
with these ideas. The adult pineal gland weighs less than 0.2 g, and its principal function is to produce about 30 μg per day of melatonin, a hormone
that regulates circadian rhythm through very high affinity interactions with melatonin receptors. It is clear that very minute concentrations of N,Ndimethyltryptamine
have been detected in the brain, but they are not sufficient to produce psychoactive effects. Alternative explanations are presented
to explain how stress and near death can produce altered states of consciousness without invoking the intermediacy of N,N-dimethyltryptamine.

[Darklight]

thank you! I downloaded it, is on my Must Read list. Be nice to hear more formal analysis of the hype

[MagusTasmanicus]

Thanks Cubism - appreciate the link to the full article. 

 

I like to think that we are the microcosm and all that is without us is within us, but their conclusion is a little disillusioning:

 

"There is no evidence to suggest that DMT can accumulate within the brain or within neurons at physiologically relevant concentrations; such inferences are either not supported by direct experimental evidence or are based on flawed experiments."

 

Still, further studies may prove otherwise!