At this point, (in 2019) the question is not whether WHM produces DMT. It seems clear based on the data that DMT is always produced throughout the brain. The real question is whether WHM increases the level of DMT in the brain correlating with the subsequent visionary effects. The difficulties in testing this scientifically are due to the invasive methods of extracting cerebral fluid via micro-dialysis. You’re essentially sticking needles in the brain to take fluid samples. While this can be undertaken in rats, unless humans develop a communication method to teach rats WHM, it would be difficult to extract comparable data to human subjects. Other methods of generating data such as taking blood samples are also challenging being that blood levels are not entirely indicative of levels found in the brain. For example, the chemical oxytocin, known as the “love hormone” exudes levels in the brain that are 100,000 percent greater than the amount found circulating in the blood . This makes it fairly difficult to extrapolate in-depth meaning from blood samples when attempting to understand what is taking place in the brain.

This challenge is not solely relegated to DMT measurement and analysis. According to WebMD, even serotonin presents a set of challenges regarding measurement: “Although it is widely believed that a serotonin deficiency plays a role in depression, there is no way to measure its levels in the living brain. Therefore, there have not been any studies proving that brain levels of this or any neurotransmitter are in short supply when depression or any mental illness develops. Blood levels of serotonin are measurable — and have been shown to be lower in people who suffer from depression – but researchers don’t know if blood levels reflect the brain’s level of serotonin.”

A 2011 review in the European Journal of Medicine and Molecular Imaging proposes that positron emission topography (PET) offers the best, non-invasive manner to measure serotonin levels in the human brain. PET uses small amounts of radioactive materials alongside a special camera and computer to evaluate tissue function. In terms of serotonin, PET provides an indirect measure of serotonin metabolism in order to estimate the levels of serotonin in the brain. However, in order to utilize PET for DMT measurement, the primary receptors of activation need to be identified which hasn’t been verified yet.

Nevertheless, based on the recent finding that the enzymes needed to produce DMT are found throughout the pineal gland, choroid plexus, and cerebral cortex, it seems realistic that DMT plays a key role in modulating everyday perception. The particular finding of the choroid plexus involvement is especially intriguing being that this part of the brain is primarily responsible for producing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This fluid is found throughout the brain and spinal cord. A 2017 study in The Journal of Neuroscience observed that breathing controls the circulation of CSF throughout the brain. While there’s much focus in the field of neuroscience regarding cerebral blood flow (CBF) and it’s correlation with brain activity, CSF has also been found to be a distribution medium of neuroactive substances influencing brain states.

A 2012 review in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis combed through endogenous DMT studies from 1955 to 2010 providing data that the some of the highest reported levels of DMT were found in the CSF when compared to urine, blood, and saliva.

Going back to the question of whether WHM upregulates DMT production or not. Based on the fact that DMT is produced at the choroid plexus which is the site of CSF production and that breathing is a key modulator of CSF production and circulation, it’s not far-fetched to believe that WHM does increase DMT levels alongside many other chemical secretions. We must remember that while INMT is the enzyme necessary for DMT production, INMT is also responsible for producing 5-MEO-DMT “The God Molecule” and Bufotenin (5-HO-DMT). This means that there is the high likelihood that WHM upregulates not only DMT but 5-MEO-DMT and Bufotenin as well.

To support the endogenous hallucinatory system even further, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) also exist within the body. MAOI’s are most well known for their role in the shamanic brew known as Ayahuasca. These chemicals provide the suppression of monoamine oxidase activity in the gut allowing DMT to retain oral activation as well as influence the length of the experience. The most widely studied endogenous MAOI is tribulin . However, there are numerous other MAOI’s found within the body such as Tryptoline , Pinoline , Harman , and Neurocatin. ​ This essentially provides the basis for the term “ Endohuasca “, the endogenous biochemical analogue of Ayahuasca.