N,N-dimethyltryptamine effects on connectome harmonics, subjective experience and comparative psychedelic experiences.
Jakub Vohryzek, Andrea I. Luppi, Selen Atasoy, Gustavo Deco, Robin Carhart-Harris, Christopher Timmermann, Morten L. Kringelbach
Neuropsychopharmacology September 12, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-025-02190-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | N N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) |
| Topics | 5-MeO-DMT Altered states of consciousness DMT |
| Keywords | Psychedelic Hallucinogen Brain activity Neural activity Brain function Neurobiology Brain rhythms Neural communication Brain patterns Consciousness Subjective experience Perception Mind Awareness Mental states Neuroimaging Brain imaging FMRI EEG Brain scans Neural mapping |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Connectome harmonic repertoire entropy increases under DMT, and measures of energy spectrum difference and repertoire entropy index the intensity of subjective experience in a time-resolved manner. |
Abstract
Exploring the intricate relationship between brain's structure and function, and how this affects subjective experience is a fundamental pursuit in neuroscience. Psychedelic substances offer a unique insight into the influences of specific neurotransmitter systems on perception, cognition and consciousness. Specifically, their impact on brain function propagates across the structural connectome - a network of white matter pathways linking different regions. To comprehensively grasp the effects of psychedelic compounds on brain function, we used a theoretically rigorous framework known as connectome harmonic decomposition. This framework provides a robust method to characterize how brain function intricately depends on the organized network structure of the human connectome. We show that the connectome harmonic repertoire under N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is reshaped in line with other reported psychedelic compounds - psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ketamine. Furthermore, we show that the repertoire entropy of connectome harmonics increases under DMT, as with those other psychedelics. Importantly, we demonstrate for the first time that measures of energy spectrum difference and repertoire entropy of connectome harmonics index the intensity of subjective experience of the participants in a time-resolved manner reflecting close coupling between connectome harmonics and subjective experience.