Application of transcerebral, weak (1 microT) complex magnetic fields and mystical experiences: are they generated by field-induced dimethyltryptamine release from the pineal organ?

During the last 15 years weak, complex magnetic fields have been applied across the two cerebral hemispheres at the level of the temporoparietal lobes of more than 500 volunteers. Most of these subjects have reported visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensations as well as experiences of detachment from the body of 'sentient beings'. Similar but more intense experiences were reported by Strassman in 2001 for volunteers who were injected with N,n-dimethyltryptamine, a compound Strassman hypothesized as the primary mediator of these experiences. If this speculation is valid, then subjects who are exposed to the very weak, complex fields known to elicit similar experiences should display significant increases in the metabolites of this compound within their blood.

Biosynthesis of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in a melanoma cell line and its metabolization by peroxidases.

Tryptophan (TRP) is essential for many physiological processes, and its metabolism changes in some diseases such as infection and cancer. The most studied aspects of TRP metabolism are the kynurenine and serotonin pathways. A minor metabolic route, tryptamine and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) biosynthesis, has received far less attention, probably because of the very low amounts of these compounds detected only in some tissues, which has led them to be collectively considered as trace amines. In a previous study, we showed a metabolic interrelationship for TRP in melanoma cell lines. Here, we identified DMT and N,N-dimethyl-N-formyl-kynuramine (DMFK) in the supernatant of cultured SK-Mel-147 cells. Furthermore, when we added DMT to the cell culture, we found hydroxy-DMT (OH-DMT) and indole acetic acid (IAA) in the cell supernatant at 24 h. We found that SK-Mel-147 cells expressed mRNA for myeloperoxidase (MPO) and also had peroxidase activity. We further found that DMT oxidation was catalyzed by peroxidases. DMT oxidation by horseradish peroxidase, H2O2 and MPO from PMA-activated neutrophils produced DMFK, N,N-dimethyl-kynuramine (DMK) and OH-DMT. Oxidation of DMT by peroxidases apparently uses the common peroxidase cycle involving the native enzyme, compound I and compound II. In conclusion, this study describes a possible alternative metabolic pathway for DMT involving peroxidases that has not previously been described in humans and identifies DMT and metabolites in a melanoma cell line. The extension of these findings to other cell types and the biological effects of DMT and its metabolites on cell proliferation and function are key questions for future studies.

The biosynthesis of dimethyltryptamine in vivo.

The in vivo formation of dimethyltryptamine was studied in rabbits, rats and monkeys. When C14-labelled N-methyltryptamine was administered by intravenous injection to rabbits, C14-dimethyltryptamine was found in lung, the principle site of the methyltransferase that biosynthesizes this psychotogen. Unequivocal evidence for C14-dimethyltryptamine formation in rat tissues was not obtained. When rabbits were given non-radioactive N-methyltryptamine intravenously, dimethyltryptamine appeared in carotid arterail blood, peaking within the first minute after injection of the precursor. USing this assay procedure we could not demonstrate dimethyltryptamine synthesis in the rhesus monkey.