Dynamic medial parietal and hippocampal deactivations under DMT relate to sympathetic output and altered sense of time, space, and the self
Lorenzo Pasquini, Alexander J. Simon, Courtney L. Gallen, Hannes Kettner, Leor Roseman, Adam Gazzaley, Robin Carhart-Harris, Christopher Timmermann
Imaging Neuroscience April 16, 2025 DOI: 10.1162/imag_a_00541 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 14 |
| Population | Healthy volunteers |
| Interventions | N N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Default mode network Ego dissolution DMT |
| Keywords | DMT: Dimethyltryptamine Psychedelic Hallucinogen Entheogen Neuroscience: brain activity Neural activity Brain function Neurobiology Brain mapping Neuroimaging Brain deactivation Neural correlates Self-referential processing Consciousness shifts Altered perception Time perception Space perception Psychological well-being Psychiatric applications Positive outcomes Self-perception Physiology: sympathetic regulation Heart rate Autonomic nervous system Bodily responses Physiological changes |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | DMT-induced hippocampal and medial parietal deactivations correlated with altered sense of time, space, and self-referential processes, while superior temporal lobe activations correlated with audio/visual hallucinations and the experience of "entities." |
Abstract
Abstract N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic, known to rapidly induce short-lasting alterations in conscious experience, characterized by a profound and immersive sense of physical transcendence alongside rich and vivid auditory distortions and visual imagery. Multimodal neuroimaging data paired with dynamic analysis techniques offer a valuable approach for identifying unique signatures of brain activity—and linked autonomic physiology—naturally unfolding during the altered state of consciousness induced by DMT. We leveraged simultaneous fMRI and EKG data acquired in 14 healthy volunteers prior to, during, and after intravenous administration of DMT, and, separately, placebo. fMRI data were preprocessed to derive individual dynamic activity matrices, reflecting the similarity of brain activity in time, and community detection algorithms were applied on these matrices to identify brain activity substates; EKG data were used to derive continuous heart rate. We identified a brain substate occurring immediately after DMT injection, characterized by hippocampal and medial parietal deactivations and increased superior temporal lobe activity under DMT. Deactivations in the hippocampus and medial parietal cortex correlated with alterations in the usual sense of time, space, and self-referential processes, reflecting a deconstruction of essential features of ordinary consciousness. Superior lobe activations, instead, correlated with audio/visual hallucinations and experience of “entities”, reflecting the emergence of altered sensory experiences under DMT. Finally, increased heart rate under DMT correlated positively with hippocampus/medial parietal deactivation and the experience of “entities”, and negatively with altered self-referential processes. These results suggest a chain of influence linking sympathetic regulation to hippocampal and medial parietal deactivations under DMT, which, combined, may contribute to positive mental health outcomes related to self-referential processing following psychedelic administration.