What Happens to My Brain on DMT?

One question for cognitive neuroscientist Christopher Timmermann. Plus: the top science news—active volcanoes on Venus; an astonishing fact about learning; and more. [View in browser]( | [Become a member]( March 21, 2023   Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here](. Good Morning! Here’s the top science news—plus this week’s One Question with psychedelics neuroscientist [Christopher Timmermann]( [READ NAUTILUS](   DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week   [Surface Changes Observed on a Venusian Volcano During the Magellan Mission]( Venus might have volcanoes that still erupt today. [Science→](   An Astonishing Regularity in Student Learning Rate]( Our theory of learning is out of date. [PNAS→](   [Structural Basis of Odorant Recognition by a Human Odorant Receptor]( New insights into how we smell a smelly smell. [Nature→](   [Earliest Triassic Ichthyosaur Fossils Push Back Oceanic Reptile Origins]( “These pioneering seagoing tetrapods can now be feasibly recast as mass extinction survivors instead of ecological successors.” [Current Biology→](   [Remains of an Ancient Glacier Spotted on Mars]( Mars nurtured ice on its surface in recent times, even near the equator. [CNN→](   [Stephen Hawking's Final Theorem Turns Time and Causality Inside Out]( “Multiverse cosmology is like a debit card without a PIN or an IKEA flatpack closet without a manual: useless.” [New Scientist→](   [Deadly Fungal Infections in U.S. Hospitals Are Up 95%]( Candida auris infects the bloodstream while resisting hospital disinfectants and anti-fungal medications. [Time→](   [NASA Redesigned the Spacesuit for the First Time in 40 Years]( This will be the first suit to protect an astronaut in the below-freezing temperatures of a permanently shaded region on the moon. [GQ→]( Experience the endless possibilities and deep human connections that science offers [SUBSCRIBE TODAY](   [Enhance Your News Reading Ecosystem]( Every day [Refind]( picks 5 links from around the web that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Loved by 100k+ curious minds. [Sign up for free]( to get smarter every day. [Subscribe Today](   [ONE QUESTION]( [What Happens to My Brain on the Psychedelic DMT?]( INTERVIEW BY BRIAN GALLAGHER One question for [Christopher Timmermann](, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, where he leads the DMT Research Group and focuses on the nature of consciousness.   The DMT experience is one in which people report going into a different dimension, an alternate reality that feels convincingly real, even more real than this everyday reality. One that has a spiritual significance. In that DMT experience, they sometimes encounter beings. In our [latest study]( we looked at brain scans using fMRI and EEG, and found that this feeling of immersion appears to be underpinned by a dysregulation of the systems in the human brain—in the prefrontal cortex, in the temporal cortices—involved in planning, decision making, and semantics. The way in which we construct meaning, essentially. [Read the interview](   Related Nautilus Stories   [ENVIRONMENT]( [How Psilocybin Can Save the Environment]( To preserve nature, we need to open our minds to it. BY MARK MACNAMARA [Continue reading →]( [NEUROSCIENCE]( [Psychedelics Open a New Window on the Mechanisms of Perception]( Hallucinatory drugs may allow our brains to let go of prior beliefs. BY ANIL ANANTHASWAMY [Continue reading →](   More in Neuroscience [What the Tiny Cluster of Brain Cells in My Lab Are Telling Me]( I’ve created organoids that, surprisingly, have a lot to say about how the brain works. BY KENNETH S. KOSIK [Continue reading →]( [The Brain Uses Calculus to Control Fast Movements]( Researchers discover that to sharpen its control over precise maneuvers, the brain uses comparisons between control signals—not the signals themselves. BY KEVIN HARTNETT [Continue reading →](   P.S. Researchers found that up to 49 percent of workers could have half or more of their tasks [exposed]( to language AIs like the newly released GPT-4. Higher paying jobs are more at-risk of being automated, but roles relying heavily on science and critical thinking skills seem safe from AI takeover for now. What about storytelling? Angus Fletcher argued that [computers will never write good novels](. Does the power of narrative only flow from the human brain?   Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher   BECOME A SUBSCRIBER [The Most Awe-Inspiring Stories in Science]( [Nautilus]( is a different kind of science magazine. 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