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N,N, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) can rapidly induce an extremely immersive state of consciousness characterized by vivid and elaborate visual imagery. Here, we investigated the electrophysiological correlates of the DMT-induced altered state from a pool of participants receiving DMT and (separately) placebo (saline) while instructed to keep their eyes closed. Consistent with our hypotheses, results revealed a spatio-temporal pattern of cortical activation (i.e. travelling waves) similar to that elicited by visual stimulation. Moreover, the typical top-down alpha-band rhythms of closed-eyes rest were significantly decreased, while the bottom-up forward wave was significantly increased. These results support a recent model proposing that psychedelics reduce the \u2018precision-weighting of priors\u2019, thus altering the balance of top-down versus bottom-up information passing. The robust hypothesis-confirming nature of these findings imply the discovery of an important mechanistic principle underpinning psychedelic-induced altered states.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7554\/elife.59784","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,12]],"date-time":"2020-10-12T08:01:13Z","timestamp":1602489673000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7554\/elife.59784","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":74,"title":["DMT alters cortical travelling waves"],"prefix":"10.7554","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9826-2161","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Andrea","family":"Alamia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cerco, CNRS Universit\u00e9 de Toulouse, Toulouse, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2281-377X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Christopher","family":"Timmermann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computational, Cognitive and 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