Complex slow waves in the human brain under 5-MeO-DMT
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
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.
Date Issued
2025-08-26
Date Acceptance
2025-07-02
Citation
Cell Reports, 2025, 44 (8)
ISSN
2211-1247
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Cell Reports
Volume
44
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Identifier
10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116040
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
116040
Date Publish Online
2025-07-22