A chronology of research into DMT visual phenomena
From Klüver's form constants in 1926 to the 650 nm laser protocol, a dated record of what has been published, what has been observed, and what is still only claimed. Sort it by date, by person, by place, or by kind of evidence. The question this chronology cannot yet answer is how many people run the protocol and see nothing, because nobody has counted. That is why null reports are collected here.
23 dated records, 1926 to 2025. The interactive version of the same set is at /evidence-map.
How the records are labelled
- Peer reviewed (13)
- Published in a peer-reviewed journal. The DOI resolves to the work described.
- Book (2)
- Published book. Identified by ISBN. Not peer reviewed.
- Legal (1)
- Court decision or statute. Identified by citation and official opinion text.
- Letters (1)
- Published in a letters or news-and-views venue outside mainstream peer review.
- Journalism (1)
- Reporting by a named publication.
- Commentary (1)
- Public comment by a named researcher, outside a formal publication.
- Platform record (2)
- A record in this site's own database, checkable against the public data export.
- Community report (2)
- Community history with no published source. Recorded so the origin is visible. Not evidence.
The chronology
-
Klüver names the form constants
. Peer reviewed. Heinrich Klüver
Klüver catalogues the recurring geometric categories people report under mescaline. His four form constants, the lattice or honeycomb, the cobweb, the tunnel and the spiral, become the vocabulary every later account of geometric hallucination is measured against.
Mescal Visions and Eidetic Vision. The American Journal of Psychology. 1926
Klüver, H. (1926). Mescal Visions and Eidetic Vision. The American Journal of Psychology, 37, 502.
-
First documented human DMT administration
. Peer reviewed. Stephen Szára. Budapest, Hungary
Szára administers DMT to human subjects and reports the psychological effects alongside its metabolism. This is the earliest documented human DMT session in the published record.
Dimethyltryptamin: Its metabolism in man; the relation of its psychotic effect to the serotonin metabolism. Experientia. 1956
Szára, S. (1956). Dimethyltryptamin: Its metabolism in man; the relation of its psychotic effect to the serotonin metabolism. Experientia, 12.
-
DMT identified in mammalian brain tissue
. Peer reviewed. Stephen T. Christian, R. Harrison, E. Quayle, J. Pagel, J. Monti
DMT is identified in mammalian brain tissue and proposed as a possible endogenous neuroregulatory agent. Whether the human body produces DMT in quantities that matter behaviourally has been argued over ever since, and is still not settled.
The in vitro identification of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in mammalian brain and its characterization as a possible endogenous neuroregulatory agent. Biochemical Medicine. 1977
Christian, S.T., Harrison, R., Quayle, E., Pagel, J., & Monti, J. (1977). The in vitro identification of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in mammalian brain and its characterization as a possible endogenous neuroregulatory agent. Biochemical Medicine, 18.
-
Geometric hallucination derived from cortical wiring
. Peer reviewed. G. Bard Ermentrout, Jack D. Cowan. Chicago, Illinois, United States
Ermentrout and Cowan derive Klüver's form constants from the architecture of primary visual cortex. Stripes and hexagons of cortical activity map, through the retino-cortical transform, onto the tunnels and spirals people describe. This remains the strongest standing argument that geometric hallucination is generated inside the visual system rather than received from outside it.
A mathematical theory of visual hallucination patterns. Biological Cybernetics. 1979
Ermentrout, G.B., & Cowan, J.D. (1979). A mathematical theory of visual hallucination patterns. Biological Cybernetics, 34.
-
The New Mexico dose-response study
. Peer reviewed. Rick Strassman, Clifford Qualls. Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
The first US human DMT research in a generation. Strassman and Qualls establish dose-response relationships for intravenous DMT under clinical conditions, reopening a line of work that had been closed since the 1970s.
Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: I. Neuroendocrine, Autonomic, and Cardiovascular Effects. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1994
Strassman, R.J., & Qualls, C.R. (1994). Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: I. Neuroendocrine, Autonomic, and Cardiovascular Effects. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51.
-
A rating scale for the DMT state
. Peer reviewed. Rick Strassman, Clifford Qualls, Eberhard Uhlenhuth, Robert Kellner. Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
The companion paper reports subjective effects and introduces a purpose-built rating scale. It is the first serious attempt to put numbers on what the DMT state feels like from the inside.
Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1994
Strassman, R.J., Qualls, C.R., Uhlenhuth, E.H., & Kellner, R. (1994). Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51.
-
The Spirit Molecule puts the pineal hypothesis into circulation
. Book. Rick Strassman. Rochester, Vermont, United States
Strassman's account of the New Mexico study for a general readership, and the book that made the pineal gland hypothesis widely known. The pineal claim is presented as a hypothesis in this book, not as a finding, and it has not since been established in humans. Much of the popular framing of DMT dates from here.
DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Park Street Press. 2001
Strassman, R. (2001). DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-0-89281-927-0.
-
Euclidean symmetry and the striate cortex
. Peer reviewed. Paul C. Bressloff, Jack D. Cowan, Martin Golubitsky, Peter J. Thomas, Matthew C. Wiener
The Ermentrout and Cowan model is extended to account for contoured patterns as well as plain geometry. This remains the reference physical explanation for tunnels, spirals, lattices and honeycombs. It does not attempt to explain reports of discrete symbol-like or alphabetic forms, which is exactly the gap this registry is pointed at.
Geometric visual hallucinations, Euclidean symmetry and the functional architecture of striate cortex. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2001
Bressloff, P.C., Cowan, J.D., Golubitsky, M., Thomas, P.J., & Wiener, M.C. (2001). Geometric visual hallucinations, Euclidean symmetry and the functional architecture of striate cortex. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 356.
-
Ayahuasca protected under US religious freedom law
. Legal. Washington, D.C., United States
The Supreme Court upholds a preliminary injunction allowing the União do Vegetal to use its DMT-containing ayahuasca tea in worship, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The decision concerns religious exemption. It does not create a research pathway.
Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006). 2006
Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006). Decided February 21, 2006. Docket 04-1084.
-
A protocol for holding the DMT state open
. Peer reviewed. Andrew R. Gallimore, Rick Strassman
Gallimore and Strassman model a target-controlled intravenous infusion that would keep a person in the DMT state long enough to look around and report back. The paper is a design, not a trial. It sets the agenda for the extended-state work that follows.
A Model for the Application of Target-Controlled Intravenous Infusion for a Prolonged Immersive DMT Psychedelic Experience. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2016
Gallimore, A.R., & Strassman, R.J. (2016). A Model for the Application of Target-Controlled Intravenous Infusion for a Prolonged Immersive DMT Psychedelic Experience. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 7.
-
DMT Dialogues published
. Book. David Luke, Rory Spowers, Anton Bilton
Researchers, clinicians and experiencers put their accounts side by side in a single volume. Notable less for any one finding than for treating first-person reports as material worth collecting systematically, which is the premise this registry runs on.
DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule. Park Street Press. 2018
Luke, D., Spowers, R., & Bilton, A. (Eds.). (2018). DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-1-62055-747-1.
-
The EEG signature of the DMT state
. Peer reviewed. Christopher Timmermann. London, United Kingdom
Timmermann and colleagues record EEG through intravenous DMT sessions and find a marked drop in alpha power alongside increased signal diversity. The first modern electrophysiological picture of the state, and the point at which DMT stopped being untouchable in mainstream neuroscience.
Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. Scientific Reports. 2019
Timmermann, C., et al. (2019). Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. Scientific Reports, 9.
-
The entity encounter survey
. Peer reviewed. Alan K. Davis, John M. Clifton, Eric G. Weaver, Ethan S. Hurwitz, Matthew W. Johnson, Roland R. Griffiths. Baltimore, Maryland, United States
2,561 people who reported meeting an entity under inhaled DMT answered a structured survey. 41 percent reported fear during the encounter. 69 percent said they received a message. 19 percent said they received a prediction about the future. Respondents most often described the entity as conscious, intelligent and benevolent. The survey records what people say. It does not test whether anything was there.
Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2020
Davis, A.K., Clifton, J.M., Weaver, E.G., Hurwitz, E.S., Johnson, M.W., & Griffiths, R.R. (2020). Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34.
-
What people actually report seeing
. Peer reviewed. David W. Lawrence, Robin Carhart-Harris, Roland R. Griffiths, Christopher Timmermann. London, United Kingdom
A structured analysis of the content of inhaled DMT experiences, sorting what people describe into recurring categories. This is the closest published relative to what this registry is attempting with drawings, and a useful yardstick for whether the symbols collected here look like anything the literature already knows about.
Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine (N,N-DMT) experience. Scientific Reports. 2022
Lawrence, D.W., Carhart-Harris, R., Griffiths, R., & Timmermann, C. (2022). Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine (N,N-DMT) experience. Scientific Reports, 12.
-
DMT under EEG and fMRI at the same time
. Peer reviewed. Christopher Timmermann, Robin Carhart-Harris, David Nutt. London, United Kingdom
The first simultaneous EEG and fMRI recordings during intravenous DMT. Global connectivity rises, network segregation falls, and the size of the change tracks the intensity of the experience. This is the modern neuroimaging baseline for DMT.
Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2023
Timmermann, C., et al. (2023). Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120.
-
The extended state is tested in people
. Peer reviewed. Lisa X. Luan, Christopher Timmermann, Robin Carhart-Harris. London, United Kingdom
Continuous intravenous infusion holds volunteers in the DMT state well beyond the few minutes an inhaled dose allows. The design modelled on paper in 2016 becomes an actual trial, which is what makes careful reporting from inside the state possible at all.
Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2023
Luan, L.X., et al. (2023). Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 38.
-
Laser and grating experiments spread outside institutions
. Community report
Independent experimenters begin combining a red laser with a diffraction grating during DMT sessions and reporting symbol-like forms on surfaces. No study, no controls, no published record. This is where the protocol this site catalogues comes from, and it is listed here as origin rather than as evidence.
No published source exists for this period. Recorded so the origin of the protocol is visible. Treat it as community history, not as evidence.
-
Online groups form around the protocol
. Community report
Discussion groups form around the laser protocol and begin comparing reports informally. Success rates circulated in these groups have never been measured under any defined denominator, so no figure is repeated here.
No published source. No counted denominator exists for any success rate claim from this period.
-
A consciousness researcher gives a public assessment
. Commentary. Andrés Gómez-Emilsson
Andres Gomez-Emilsson of the Qualia Research Institute posted what he called his candid take on the DMT laser claims, describing the setup and comparing the reported effect to other visual phenomena. The post is linked in full rather than summarised further here, because a one line paraphrase of someone else's assessment is exactly the kind of thing this chronology is trying to stop doing. Read it and judge it yourself.
My candid take on the DMT laser claims. X. 2024
Gómez-Emilsson, A. (2024, December 6). My candid take on the DMT laser claims. X.
-
The Code of Reality pilot is published
. Letters. Danny Goler
The first published description of the 650 nm laser and diffraction grating protocol, reporting consistency across observers. It is filed as News and Views in a venue outside mainstream peer review, with a small documented sample and no blinding. It is the reference document for the protocol this site catalogues. It is not a controlled trial and should not be read as one.
Detailing a Pilot Study: The "Code of Reality" Protocol, A Phenomenon of N,N-DMT Induced States of Consciousness. IPI Letters. 2025
Goler, D. (2025). Detailing a Pilot Study: The Code of Reality Protocol. IPI Letters. DOI 10.59973/ipil.158.
-
First major press scrutiny
. Journalism. Mattha Busby
The first substantial journalistic profile of the protocol, setting the claims next to skeptical commentary from working scientists. Read it alongside the pilot paper rather than instead of it.
The Man Who Can 'Prove' Life Is a Simulation, With Just a DMT Vape and a Laser. Vice. 2025
Busby, M. (2025, January 28). Vice.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/danny-goler-dmt-vape-laser-simulation/
-
First glyph recorded in this registry
. Platform record
The earliest record in the public registry on this site. A curated starter set was entered first so the catalogue had a shape people could argue with. Those entries are labelled as a starter set and are not participant submissions.
Public symbol registry
Earliest created_at in the public registry table on dmtcode.com, 24 November 2025.
-
First participant submission
. Platform record
The first symbol drawn and submitted by a participant through the public tool, rather than entered by the site. The point at which the registry stopped being a catalogue and started being a record.
Public symbol registry
Earliest created_at in the participant submissions table on dmtcode.com, 30 November 2025.
Tags
- dmt (7)
- phenomenology (5)
- form-constants (3)
- laser-protocol (3)
- dmtcode (2)
- dmtx (2)
- eeg (2)
- endogenous-dmt (2)
- entities (2)
- extended-state (2)
- infusion (2)
- milestone (2)
- modelling (2)
- neuroimaging (2)
- registry (2)
- skeptical-explanation (2)
- unverified (2)
- visual-cortex (2)
- 650-nm (1)
- assessment (1)
- ayahuasca (1)
- book (1)
- categories (1)
- clinical (1)
- clinical-trial (1)
- commentary (1)
- community (1)
- connectivity (1)
- content-analysis (1)
- coverage (1)
- diffraction-grating (1)
- dose-response (1)
- first-human-study (1)
- first-person-reports (1)
- fmri (1)
- human-study (1)
- hypothesis (1)
- independent-research (1)
- journalism (1)
- large-sample (1)
- law (1)
- measurement (1)
- mescaline (1)
- neurochemistry (1)
- online-groups (1)
- open-question (1)
- origin (1)
- participant (1)
- pharmacology (1)
- pilot-study (1)
- pineal (1)
- policy (1)
- popular-science (1)
- protocol-design (1)
- qualia-research-institute (1)
- rating-scale (1)
- religious-use (1)
- selection-bias (1)
- serotonin (1)
- signal-diversity (1)
- skepticism (1)
- starter-set (1)
- survey (1)
- symbols (1)
- symmetry (1)
- v1 (1)
- visual-geometry (1)
Provenance
Citations checked on 2026-07-29 against Crossref DOI resolution, US Supreme Court opinion record, and this site's own database. Every entry carries an evidence_class. Nothing is listed as published research unless its DOI resolves to the work described. Claims with no source are labelled community_report and are not presented as evidence.
The data is /timeline.json. The schema for adding a paper or article is /timeline.schema.json. Append one object to entries that validates against the entry definition and it appears here.
License: CC-BY-4.0. Attribute to DMT Code, https://dmtcode.com.