Full talk title: Prospective Examination of Synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine Inhalation: Effects on Salivary IL-6, Cortisol levels, Affect, and Non-judgement
5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychotropic substance found in various plant as well as animal species, and can also be synthetically produced. Despite the use of 5-MeO-DMT by people in naturalistic settings, current scientific knowledge on the effects of 5-MeO-DMT in humans are relatively scarce. Thus, the first objective of this research was to assess the effects of inhalation of vaporised synthetic 5-MeO-DMT on neuroendocrine markers. The second objective was to assess effects of the substance on affect and mindfulness. In addition, this research assessed whether ratings of subjective measures were associated with changes in stress biomarkers (i.e. cortisol) and immune response (i.e. IL-6, CRP, IL-1β), as well as the acute psychedelic experience. Assessments (baseline, immediately post-session, and 7-days follow-up) were made in 11 participants. Salivary samples were collected at baseline and post-session and analysed by high-sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A summary of the results will be presented.
Malin Vedøy Uthaug has a background in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate at the department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology (FPN) at Maastricht University. Her doctoral research, supervised by Dr. Jan Ramaekers and Dr. Jordi Riba, centres around the investigation of the effects of Ayahuasca ingested in a naturalistic setting on affect and cognition, in addition to pioneer work on the effects of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) in humans. Outside of her thesis work, Malin is also conducting research on mescaline and holotropic breathwork, is interested in trauma resolution and non-ordinary state psychotherapy (NOSP), and finally, she is also one of the co-founders of the Norwegian Association for Psychedelic Studies.
Filmed at Breaking Convention 2019 in Greenwich London.
