Neurochemical and Neurophysiological Effects of Intravenous Administration of -Dimethyltryptamine in Rats

Overview

Journal bioRxiv

Date 2024 May 7

PMID 38712161

Authors

Nicolas G Glynos

Emma R Huels

Amanda Nelson

YoungSoo Kim

Robert T Kennedy

George A Mashour

Dinesh Pal

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Significance Statement: , -dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic with potential as a tool for probing the neurobiology of consciousness and as a therapeutic agent for psychiatric disorders. However, the neurochemical and neurophysiological effects of DMT in rat, a preferred animal model for mechanistic studies, are unclear. We demonstrate that intravenous DMT caused a dose-dependent increase in serotonin and dopamine in medial prefrontal and somatosensory cortices, and simultaneously increased gamma functional connectivity. Similar effects have been shown for other serotonergic and atypical psychedelics, suggesting a shared mechanism of drug action. Additionally, we report DMT during normal wakefulness in two spatially and functionally distinct cortical sites - prefrontal, somatosensory - at levels comparable to those of serotonin and dopamine, supporting a physiological role for endogenous DMT.

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