In a departure from kratom science, Dr. Cachat and Brian look at a paper by a pioneering pharmacologist and researcher in the field of psychedelics, Dr. David E. Nichols. Dr. Nichols methodically lays out his case for why endogenous DMT produced in the pineal gland, brain, or other parts of the human body is not present at adequate enough doses to be psychoactive. Therefore there is not enough evidence that endogenous DMT explains out-of-body experiences or near-death experience. This is controversial in drug nerd world as evidence by YouTube comments on a related talk given by Dr. Nichols, and may run counter to Rick Strassman’s arguments presented in his popular book and documentary The Spirit Molecule. Is endogenous DMT a neurotransmitter? If not what is it? If DMT doesn’t explain near death experiences, what does?
References:
Breaking Convention. (2017, Jul. 9). David Nichols – DMT and the pineal gland: Facts vs fantasy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeeqHUiC8Io
Lokhorst, Gert-Jan, “Descartes and the Pineal Gland”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/pineal-gland/
Nichols D. E. (2018). N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 32(1), 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117736919
Music: Captain Bigwheel “Moonrunner”
Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com
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