Scientists at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, are aiming to work on cutting-edge research to study how endogenous DMT, occurring naturally in the body, may be useful to modern medicine, particularly by protecting brain cells in the stage of clinical death.
The core assumption of the planned research is that one of the physiological roles of endogenous DMT is to protect against oxidative stress, otherwise known as hypoxia or lack of oxygen. In practical terms, the question is whether DMT can be used in a hospital context, to protect patients’ brains against damage caused by oxygen starvation.
This scenario is most common when patients experience a heart attack or heart failure; usually, such patients are elderly – it can also happen, however, in babies, if the umbilical cord is trapped around the baby's neck. When oxygen is not reaching the brain, the more time passes, the greater the change and extent of brain damage.
According to the hypothesis of Dr. Eda Frecska and his team, “DMT can extend the amount of time that the brain can survive unscathed in the absence of a steady stream of oxygen. We have already conducted research on DMT and immunology, which has shown a protective effect of DMT on cells. If our hypothesis is correct, the impact could be huge. However, we first need to do the basic research to test the effect of DMT on neuronal tissue.”
Frecska is the Chairman of Psychiatry at the University of Debrecen in Hungary – a qualified psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist, with decades of research experience in the United States. Dr Frecska has published his findings on the effect of ayahuasca on creativity, aggressive behavior, and binocular rivalry. The most recent findings of his team concern the immunological effects of DMT.
His research plan is endorsed by world-renowned ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, author of The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss; Graham Hancock, author of the book Supernatural; and psychologist and psychedelic researcher, Gabor Maté, among others.
In his endorsement, Dennis McKenna writes:
“Why does the human body and brain make DMT? No one really knows, but it must have a function, or more probably multiple functions. Dr. Frecska and his colleagues are at the absolute cutting edge of efforts to understand those functions in depth. Their study will focus on DMT’s possible role as an antihypoxic agent in clinical death. The implications of this research, if their hypothesis holds up, are enormous. I strongly urge you to contribute generously to the campaign. This is about an attempt to answer some of the most fundamental questions of the human brain, mind, and spirit.”
György Folk
