The Neurophenomenology of DMT Entity Encounters
Jeanne Porges • Depaul University
N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a rather mystical psychoactive chemical. When under the influence of DMT, many individuals across different places and periods of time have experienced what they believe to be “entities” or seemingly conscious beings that appear to feel very real. There are many records of individuals perceiving the existence of jesters, elves, shadow figures, humanoid beings, and insectoid beings during DMT trips. There have also been accounts of divine figures showing up during DMT experiences, such as Hindu, Egyptian, and Mayan deities. These are just a few examples of DMT entities that have been reported. According to a study done by Davis and colleagues (1), despite only 21% of participants taking DMT with the intention of having an entity encounter, the majority of participants encountered entities. 69% of participants reported that the entity initiated the encounter and 80% of respondents reported that the experience changed their fundamental conception of the nature of reality (2). When individuals describe their experience in detail online and in studies, they are often surprised to find out that other people who have taken DMT have experienced the same entities, and are able to describe the same exact features and details. Through space and time—without hearing other people’s experiences—individuals consistently describe the same entities while on DMT. This phenomena leads many to call DMT the “spirit molecule,” which posits an inherently mystical nature. Many believe that tapping into these mystical experiences via the spirit molecule can help one gain access to the nature of reality and the essence of being.
According to Davis and colleagues’ study (3), 39% of participants experienced aliens, 39% experienced spirits, 16% experienced angels, 14% experienced elves, eight percent experienced faeries, 11% experienced religious figures, 6% experienced clowns, and 18% experienced plant or chemical spirits. This brings forth an important psychological question: what are DMT entities on a neurophenomenological level, and how is this experience represented in the brain? This paper aims to explore the neurophenomenology of DMT entity experiences. First, it is important to discuss the pharmacology of DMT, which focuses on the mechanisms of action, uses, and effects of drugs. Second, it is necessary to operationally define out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and draw parallels between the way both OBEs and the DMT experience are represented in the brain. Third, the temporoparietal junction (TPJ)’s role will be discussed in relation to the OBE and the DMT experience. Lastly, I will explore three hypotheses that have been developed based on the literature regarding DMT, which may explain the curious phenomenon of DMT entity experiences from a psychological lens.
To begin, DMT is classified as a classic psychedelic, which means that the chemical has an affinity for the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (4). DMT enters the blood-brain barrier primarily through smoking, although it can be taken orally in combination with an Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) as well. Once the chemical makes it through the bloodstream to the brain, it acts as an agonist, mimicking serotonin and attaching to the 5-HT2A receptors. DMT is a tryptamine which means that it is an organic compound or indole that has two linked rings— one with six atoms and the other with five (5). Tryptamines are found in plants, animals, and fungi, and they typically serve as a signaling molecule between cells (6). Serotonin is a primary tryptamine in human bodies, so it is interesting that other tryptamines like DMT can act as agonists and partial agonists. Ballentine and colleagues’ study (7) shows that references to “liminal conscious beings,'' also known as entities, and these alterations in consciousness are strongly associated with DMT and the receptors that it has an affinity for, including 5-HT2A, 5-HT5A, 5-HT7, D1, Sigma 1, and NMDA. The results of this study show that the brain regions in which these receptors are most prominent are the association cortex, rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices, and temporoparietal junction (8). In addition, the study explores what happens when the Default Mode Network (DMN) is interrupted. The DMN includes the medial temporal lobe, medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, ventral precuneus, and parts of the parietal cortex, works as a complex network that is most active when the brain is resting (9), and is thought to be associated with introspective thought— however this has not been empirically established. When the DMN becomes dysregulated, (10) it is associated with self-disintegration, alteration of own-body perception, and whole body displacement. Although there is no consistent way that an individual experiences alteration of own-body perception, it can manifest as feeling separate from one’s body, observing one’s self, etc. Alteration of own-body-perception can also be experienced as a feeling of omnipresence, which is often perceived as mystical. There is evidence that suggests the DMN is regulated by other parietal regions, such as the temporoparietal junction, (11) which will be explored in detail next.
The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is the part of the brain where the temporal lobe and parietal lobe intersect (12) and it is thought to be associated with the experience of “liminal conscious beings,” or entities. In addition to this, the TPJ regulates social cognition, attention, reasoning about oneself and others, self-body awareness, and self-other distinction (13). A naturalistic field study done on the DMT experience describes how the TPJ is involved in regulating the experience of one’s own body, and when DMT interrupts the TPJ, one’s bodily sense of self becomes dysregulated, which can contribute to the DMT entity experience (14). Other studies have shown that when the TPJ is dysregulated, extra-bodily perceptions similar to DMT entity encounters occur. For example, Arzy and colleagues (15) did a study in which the TPJ of an epileptic patient was electrically stimulated. When the left side of the TPJ was stimulated, the participant visually and spatially perceived the presence of what they described as a “shadow person.” The presence of a “shadow person” has often been described by people under the influence of DMT. The participant described having the sensation that a shadow was behind her and when her TPJ was further stimulated, the participant described the shadow as young and having no sex or gender.
The participant described the shadow’s bodily position as almost identical to their own (16) Arzy and his colleagues, like Blanke, knew that the TPJ regulates self-processing and own-body perception, which led them to theorize that when the TPJ is interrupted by electric stimulation, own-body perception is disrupted This may lead individuals to have extra-bodily perceptions that are disintegrated from their body (17). This phenomenon may be described as an out of body experience (OBE). Blanke and colleagues have done multiple studies relating to the TPJ’s role in OBEs. Just as research has shown that the TPJ has a central role in the DMT experience, there is evidence to support the TPJ having a central role in OBEs as well. Blanke and colleagues (18) tested this hypothesis and found that when the right side of the TPJ was stimulated in healthy participants, their mental own-body perception was altered and their perception of their body disintegrated from their sense of self.
If the OBE and DMT experience are both primarily regulated by the disintegration of the TPJ, then this brings forth a hypothesis that DMT entities are an extra-spatial representation of an individual’s own body, which appear as visual hallucinations while under the influence of DMT. This means that the entity experience is a product of dysregulation of bodily perception. When considering this hypothesis, it is important to consider that there is a limited body of literature on the TPJ and its role involving DMT and OBEs, and replications of the studies need to be done in order to determine the reliability of the above stated results. Furthermore, there are discrepancies between different studies. For example, Blanke did multiple studies regarding the TPJ’s role in OBEs but during one study he stimulated the right TPJ, and in another study he stimulated the left TPJ. More research needs to be done to explore what part of the TPJ is associated with what kind of self-regulation. This research will then inform which side of the TPJ to stimulate when engaging in experimental studies regarding the TPJ in relation to extra-spatial representations of bodily perception.
After exploring the TPJ’s role in the DMT entity experience, it is important to explore DMT’s role in regulating the thalamocortical system and why the thalamocortical system is significant to the entity experience. Gallimore (19) analyzes the neurophenomenological and evolutionary implications of the DMT experience, theorizing that in order to experience the DMT “hyperspace” experience— in which DMT entities are encountered—brains must hold neural representations for these experiences. This brings forth the following questions: what is the neural representation of DMT in the brain and how is this significant to the DMT entity experience? As aforementioned, DMT acts on the serotonin receptor 5-HT2A.. The primary evolutionary purpose of serotonin neurotransmitters is to regulate the thalamocortical system, which regulates consciousness (20). Brain imaging technology shows that DMT also has the ability to regulate the thalamocortical system (21), which is a unique evolutionary trait. Other classic psychedelics do not regulate the thalamocortical system, but rather just the serotonin system. Other classic psychedelics do not allow individuals access to the DMT entity realm either. This is specific to DMT and its role in regulating the thalamocortical system, which ultimately regulates consciousness.
Using this information, Gallimore speculates that it is possible that at one time, humans or our close ancestors had psychedelic quantities of DMT in the brain that regulated the thalamocortical system, similarly to the way that serotonin regulates the thalamocortical system today (22). This would have played a specific evolutionary function that we no longer need, and due to no longer needing it, it is possible that we have evolved to produce primarily serotonin in order to regulate the thalamocortical system instead. When considering this theory, one must acknowledge that by empirical standards it is considered speculative. There is no way to empirically test this theory for a variety of reasons, but primarily, it is nearly impossible to find a human ancestor from thousands of years ago with a brain intact that can be tested for DMT. Therefore, there is no way to determine if our ancestors secreted psychedelic quantities of DMT in the brain or what function that may have served. In addition to this, there have been no studies done to measure DMT in the human brain. Research has only been done to measure DMT in a rat brain, and it is a fallacy to assume that the results from rat brains will generalize to human brains. In order to strengthen this speculative theory, research done on the human brain is necessary.
After examining DMT’s role in regulating the thalamocortical system, it is important to consider the idea that Jungian archetypes may be expressed through DMT entity experiences, as a representation of the collective unconscious. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung believed that the collective unconscious was a collection of all ancestral history and knowledge which ultimately comes together to create the psyche and archetypes. Archetypes are aspects of the collective unconscious that are represented through literature, theater, dreams, and art. Some Jungian archetypes, according to Jeffrey, include the hero, magician, sage (elder), shaman, creator, caregiver, self, jester, shadow, gatekeeper, healer, shapeshifter, and entertainer. These archetypes can be interpreted as DMT entities, such as ancestors and elders, the creator/universe, mother nature, jesters, shadows/shadow people, gatekeepers to DMT realm (23), entities that perform surgeries on individuals who seemingly heal them psychologically, machine elves that shapeshift, and even circus entertainers (24). It could be possible that DMT triggers an ancestral modulator in the brain that brings archetypes to the surface in the form of DMT entities. Similarly to the evolutionary theory, a lack of empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis needs to be considered. Although there is striking resemblance between Jungian archetypes and DMT entities, there is no way to empirically test whether these archetypes are a reflection of the collective unconscious. Despite the lack of empirical support, the idea that DMT entity experiences reflect archetypes from the collective unconscious is logical on a phenomenological level.
After discussing the previous three hypotheses regarding the neurophenomenology of the DMT entity encounter, it is apparent that first and foremost, more research needs to be done and more literature needs to be added to the field of psychology. Most of the literature available is from a philosophical lens, and while philosophy, specifically phenomenology, is a valuable tool when analyzing psychedelics like DMT, it is essential that psychologists ask questions and explore those questions through research in order to determine the neurophenomenology of the DMT entity experience. When determining which of the three hypotheses is the most feasible from an empirical lens, the hypothesis which posits that through the dysregulation of the TPJ, one experiences extra-spatial representation of the self, is supported by the most empirical evidence. The studies regarding extra-spatial perception of the self utilized statistically significant brain imaging data in order to formulate this hypothesis, which significantly strengthens this hypothesis. As mentioned, it is important for these research studies to be replicated in order to gain more efficacy and reliability. This body of information on the neurophenomenology of the DMT entity encounter should ultimately serve to inform future research that aims to explore the nature of DMT entity encounters from a phenomenological lens. It is clear that the entity encounter is one of the key phenomenological qualities of the DMT experience. If DMT does provide individuals access to a mystical realm that reveals the nature of being and reality, then it is important to study DMT and its purpose further, in order to come to further understanding about the nature of the universe and human existence within the universe.
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Endnotes:
1. Alan K Davis et al., “Survey of Entity Encounter Experiences Occasioned by Inhaled n,n-Dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, Interpretation, and Enduring Effects,” Journal of Psychopharmacology 34, no. 9 (2020): pp. 1008-1020, https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120916143, 1010.
2. Alan K Davis et al., “Survey of Entity Encounter Experiences Occasioned by Inhaled n,n-Dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, Interpretation, and Enduring Effects,” Journal of Psychopharmacology 34, no. 9 (2020): pp. 1008-1020, https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120916143, 1012-1017.
3. Alan K Davis et al., “Survey of Entity Encounter Experiences Occasioned by Inhaled n,n-Dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, Interpretation, and Enduring Effects,” Journal of Psychopharmacology 34, no. 9 (2020): pp. 1008-1020, https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120916143, 1011.
4. C D Nichols and D E Nichols, “DMT in the Mammalian Brain: A Critical Appraisal,” Alius Research, 2019, http://www.aliusresearch.org/nichols-nichols-endogenous-dmt.html, 17-18.
5. Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics (S.l.: Penguin, 2019), 239.
6. Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics (S.l.: Penguin, 2019), 239.
7. Galen Ballentine, Samuel Freesun Friedman, and Danilo Bzdok, “Trips and Neurotransmitters: Discovering Principled Patterns across 6,850 Hallucinogenic Experiences,” 2021, https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.13.452263, 5.
8. Galen Ballentine, Samuel Freesun Friedman, and Danilo Bzdok, “Trips and Neurotransmitters: Discovering Principled Patterns across 6,850 Hallucinogenic Experiences,” 2021, https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.13.452263, 5.
9. Mahiko Konishi et al., “Shaped by the Past: The Default Mode Network Supports Cognition That Is Independent of Immediate Perceptual Input,” PLOS ONE 10, no. 6 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132209, 1.
10. Mahiko Konishi et al., “Shaped by the Past: The Default Mode Network Supports Cognition That Is Independent of Immediate Perceptual Input,” PLOS ONE 10, no. 6 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132209, 1.
11. Galen Ballentine, Samuel Freesun Friedman, and Danilo Bzdok, “Trips and Neurotransmitters: Discovering Principled Patterns across 6,850 Hallucinogenic Experiences,” 2021, https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.13.452263, 17.
12. Henryk Bukowski and Claus Lamm, “Temporoparietal Junction,” Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 2017, pp. 1-5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_863-1, 2.
13. Henryk Bukowski and Claus Lamm, “Temporoparietal Junction,” Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 2017, pp. 1-5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_863-1, 2-3.
14. Pascal Michael, David Luke, and Oliver Robinson, “An Encounter with the Other: A Thematic Analysis of Accounts of DMT Experiences from a Naturalistic Field Study,” October 2021, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8cdgs, 44-45.
15. Shahar Arzy et al., “Induction of an Illusory Shadow Person,” Nature 443, no. 7109 (2006): pp. 287-287, https://doi.org/10.1038/443287a, 287.
16. Shahar Arzy et al., “Induction of an Illusory Shadow Person,” Nature 443, no. 7109 (2006): pp. 287-287, https://doi.org/10.1038/443287a, 287.
17. Shahar Arzy et al., “Induction of an Illusory Shadow Person,” Nature 443, no. 7109 (2006): pp. 287-287, https://doi.org/10.1038/443287a, 287.
18. O. Blanke, “Linking out-of-Body Experience and Self Processing to Mental Own-Body Imagery at the Temporoparietal Junction,” Journal of Neuroscience 25, no. 3 (2005): pp. 550-557, https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2612-04.2005, 555-556.
19. Andrew Gallimore, “Andrew Gallimore, Building Alien Worlds - the Neuropsychological and Evolutionary Implications of the Astonishing Psychoactive Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine - Philpapers,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, January 1, 1970, https://philpapers.org/rec/GALBAW, 458-470.
20. Andrew Gallimore, “Andrew Gallimore, Building Alien Worlds - the Neuropsychological and Evolutionary Implications of the Astonishing Psychoactive Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine - Philpapers,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, January 1, 1970, https://philpapers.org/rec/GALBAW, 464.
21. Andrew Gallimore, “Andrew Gallimore, Building Alien Worlds - the Neuropsychological and Evolutionary Implications of the Astonishing Psychoactive Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine - Philpapers,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, January 1, 1970, https://philpapers.org/rec/GALBAW, 473-475.
22. Andrew Gallimore, “Andrew Gallimore, Building Alien Worlds - the Neuropsychological and Evolutionary Implications of the Astonishing Psychoactive Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine - Philpapers,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, January 1, 1970, https://philpapers.org/rec/GALBAW, 482-495.
23. Pascal Michael, David Luke, and Oliver Robinson, “An Encounter with the Other: A Thematic Analysis of Accounts of DMT Experiences from a Naturalistic Field Study,” October 2021, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8cdgs, 14-16.
24. Pascal Michael, David Luke, and Oliver Robinson, “An Encounter with the Other: A Thematic Analysis of Accounts of DMT Experiences from a Naturalistic Field Study,” October 2021, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8cdgs, 3-10.