In certain circles, the potent psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is known as the “spirit molecule” for its peculiar ability to transport people into other worlds. Those who take it commonly experience vibrant colours, abstract geometric patterns – and even meet elves and aliens – all in a way that feels completely real.
That might all sound about as far from the realm of empirical science as you can get – but not for neuroscientist Zeus Tipado. In his lab in Maastricht, the Netherlands, he is planning an outlandish experiment in which he will monitor the brains of people dosed with DMT while they wear a virtual reality headset. The hope is that by observing what happens when we slip into another form of reality, we can fathom how our minds construct the one we experience in everyday life. “Our brain is easily deceived as to what reality is,” says Tipado.
Already, he has found tantalising hints of a new brain network that he thinks might underlie the feeling we have of being immersed in a world – be that real life, VR or a drug-induced trip. He hopes to identify and perhaps even learn to control this hypothetical “immersion circuit”. If he can, it might enable us to dial up or down how believable an experience is, create more effective therapies for mental ill-health and produce more visceral training worlds for surgeons or firefighters. It would also, of course, be a huge breakthrough in neuroscience.
Prediction machines
We don’t fully understand how our minds create the seamless experience of…
