Biochemistry and the schizophrenias.
Southern medical journal October 1979 DOI: 10.1097/00007611-197910000-00017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People with schizophrenia and people with liver disease, plus comparison subjects, whose cerebrospinal fluid and urine were examined |
| Key findings | The paper reviews the transmethylation and dopamine hypotheses of schizophrenia and reports that the endogenous hallucinogen DMT can be definitively identified and measured in human cerebrospinal fluid and urine, with elevated levels in some cases of schizophrenia and liver disease. It discusses evidence that DMT may be a normal neuroregulatory agent responsive to stress or emotional reactions. |
Abstract
This paper reviews the present status of the transmethylation and the dopamine hypotheses of schizophrenia and presents recent data on the definitive identification and measurement of the endogenous hallucinogen, dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in human cerebrospinal fluid and urine. Elevated levels are found in some cases of schizophrenia and of liver disease. Evidence is discussed showing that DMT may be a normal neuroregulatory agent which is responsive to stress or emotional reactions.