I was thinking about the neuroscience of psychedelics in the show a few minutes ago, and had (what feels like) a pretty massive insight into what serotonin (the neurotransmitter that our favorite entheogens acts on) may actually be for.

I humbly posit that serotonin may be the neurotransmitter that modulates information processing and encoding in the brain.

On one end of the spectrum are people with OCD, who compulsively repeat an action or ritual. If you give them an SSRI (increase the amount of serotonin floating in the brain), the severity of their symptoms will decrease. This may mean that a dearth of serotonin means that the brain is unable to register the connection between two actions which 'finishes' the process.

On the other hand, people tripping on serotonergic psychedelics (which cause the brain to believe it is being flooded with masses of serotonin) report feelings of massive insight and see connections that belie the fundamental nature of God and the universe.

A person who's brain produces a normal amount of serotonin is, of course, totally functional.

On a related note, paranoid schizophrenics display behavior and thought patterns indicative of a pattern recognition system that has gone crazy, seeing ominous clues and patterns in unrelated things. If you give them an atypical antipsychotic (which antagonizes serotonin receptors, essentially decreasing the potency of the neurotransmitter), the paranoia lessens.

This makes me think that serotonin, in addition to regulating gut movements and existential well-being probably has some effect on how the brain stores information and forms connections between related concepts. This means that an understanding of the actions of serotonin (especially the 5-HT2A receptor, where most insight-producing psychedelics act) may be essential for understanding the brain as an information processing machine.

Any thoughts?

Blessings
~ND

These entheogens like DMT don't act on serotonin..they act on serotonin receptors, as well as a bunch of other receptors. Just want to clafify that. Certain things like MDMA do increase the levels of serotonin in the brain.

I am not sure it really makes sense to say that when you take DMT for instance, it causes the brain to think it's being flooded with serotonin. DMT and serotonin don't have identical receptor affinity. You cant just increase serotonin and get a DMT trip, so I don't see how the brain thinks it's being flooded with serotonin when you smoke DMT or eat psilocybin.

Hmm, perhaps I didn't word that correctly, or think it all the way through.

However

I would say that it makes sense to say that certain parts of your brain think they are being flooded with serotonin. You couldn't achieve a DMT-like head-space with just serotonin because you'd die of serotonin syndrome before you got there, however, serotonin syndrome (to my knowledge) is caused by hyperactivity in only some (but not all) receptors. If I am wrong about this, let me know. This is what I got from my reading.
So, if you were to selectively antagonize all the receptors but, say, the 5-HT2A receptor, you might be able to achieve higher levels of a psychedelic experience.

So when you eat something like magic mushrooms, certain receptors may think they are being flooded with serotonin, but not others, so it may make more sense to say that parts of your brain think they are being flooded.

If those receptors are the ones that help modulate insight and information encoding, then I would say my theory still stands.

Blessings
~ND