Complex slow waves in the human brain under 5-MeO-DMT.
George Blackburne, Rosalind McAlpine, Marco S. Fabus, Alberto Liardi, Sunjeev K. Kamboj, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Jeremy I Skipper
Cell Reports July 22, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116040 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 29 |
| Population | Healthy individuals |
| Intervention | 5-MeO-DMT |
| Dose | 12 mg |
| Topics | 5-MeO-DMT DMT |
| Keywords | Cp: neuroscience Complex dynamics Manifold Slow waves Spatiotemporal Psychedelic neuroscience Brain dynamics Consciousness research |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key findings | 5-MeO-DMT radically reorganizes low-frequency neural flows, making them heterogeneous, viscous, and nonrecurring, and increases the stability and low-dimensional behavior of broadband activity. |
Abstract
5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychedelic drug known for its uniquely profound effects on consciousness; however, it remains unknown how it affects the brain. We collected electroencephalography (EEG) data of 29 healthy individuals before and after inhaling a high dose (12-mg) of vaporized synthetic 5-MeO-DMT. We replicate results from rodents showing amplified low-frequency oscillations but extend these findings by characterizing the complex organization of spatiotemporal fields of neural activity. We find that 5-MeO-DMT radically reorganizes low-frequency flows, causing them to become heterogeneous, viscous, and nonrecurring and to cease their travel forward and backward across the cortex. Further, we find a consequence of this reorganization in broadband activity, which exhibits more stable low-dimensional behavior with increased energy barriers for rapid global shifts. These findings provide a detailed empirical account of how 5-MeO-DMT sculpts human brain dynamics, revealing a set of atypical cortical slow-wave behaviors with significant implications for neuroscientific models of serotonergic psychedelics.