One of the biggest stories in psychedelic science over the past decade has been neuroplasticity. Studies have shown compounds like psilocybin and DMT can rapidly encourage existing neurons to grow new branches, form stronger connections and communicate more effectively.
But a newly published study in ACS Chemical Neuroscience suggests DMT’s effects may begin even earlier than that.
Researchers have found that a brief, 24-hour exposure to DMT caused human neural stem cells to multiply more rapidly in the laboratory while simultaneously boosting the production of some of the brain’s most important growth factors.
If confirmed in living humans, it could represent another piece of the puzzle explaining why DMT produces such rapid antidepressant effects.
What are neural stem cells?
Think of neural stem cells as the brain’s reserve supply. Unlike mature neurons, these cells can continue dividing and eventually develop into new neurons or other supporting brain cells.
In adults they are relatively rare, but they are thought to play an important role in learning, memory and recovery from injury, particularly within the hippocampus.
Many researchers believe reduced neurogenesis (the production of new neurons) may contribute to disorders such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease.
The study
Researchers generated human neural stem cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), essentially adult cells that have been reprogrammed back into a stem-cell state. The cells were then exposed to DMT for 24 hours before researchers measured how they responded.
Compared with untreated cells, DMT significantly increased stem-cell proliferation. The effect was dose dependent, meaning stronger effects were seen as the concentration increased up to an optimal level. At its peak, DMT increased cell proliferation by almost 24% after just one day of exposure.
Importantly, DMT did not reduce cell viability, suggesting it was stimulating healthy cell division rather than causing cellular stress.
The researchers then looked at genes involved in brain growth. DMT dramatically increased the expression of:
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — up around 4.6-fold
- Nerve growth factor (NGF) — up around 9.5-fold
They also measured the actual BDNF protein inside the cells and found levels increased more than fivefold after DMT exposure.
BDNF has become one of the most closely studied molecules in neuroscience. It supports neuron survival, encourages new synapses to form and plays a central role in learning, memory and recovery from depression.
Many conventional antidepressants eventually increase BDNF, but typically only after weeks of treatment. Here, DMT produced these changes within 24 hours.
The effects continued after the drug disappeared
Perhaps the most interesting finding came after researchers removed the DMT entirely. The treated stem cells were allowed to grow into small three-dimensional clusters called neurospheres.
Even without any further DMT exposure, these neurospheres were larger and showed greater metabolic activity than untreated controls during the early stages of development. In other words, the cells appeared to retain a growth advantage after the drug had gone.
By day 10, however, the cells had matured normally into the expected mixture of neural progenitors and immature neurons, with no evidence that DMT had disrupted normal development.
Why this matters
Most psychedelic research has focused on synaptic plasticity, the ability of existing neurons to form stronger and more numerous connections. This study points to another possibility.
Rather than simply helping existing neurons communicate more effectively, DMT may also expand the pool of cells capable of becoming future neurons. That would represent a deeper level of brain plasticity.
If future studies confirm similar effects inside the human brain, DMT’s therapeutic potential may extend beyond strengthening existing neural circuits to supporting the brain’s own regenerative capacity.
However, this was not a clinical trial. The experiments were performed on human stem cells grown in laboratory dishes, not in living people. That means we still don’t know whether taking DMT causes the same increase in neural stem-cell proliferation inside the human brain.
But the findings fit with a growing body of evidence showing psychedelics promote structural plasticity, increase BDNF signalling and, in animal studies, enhance neurogenesis.
This new study adds another intriguing piece to that picture, and suggests DMT’s remarkable effects on the brain may begin even earlier than scientists previously realized.
Source: Proliferative Effects of the Psychedelic N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Human Neural Stem Cells, ACS Chemical Neuroscience DOI:10.1021/acschemneuro.6c00209, Published July 9, 2026
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