A powerful psychedelic drug researchers say can help reset the brain is being used to treat depression for the first time.
DMT - dubbed the 'Sprit Molecule' because of the way it alters the human consciousness and produces experiences that have been likened to a spiritual awakening - is one of the main active ingredients in ayahuasca, a potent plant brew consumed in shamanic rituals in the Amazon.
While DMT is a 'Class A' drug that is illegal to distribute or possess, it is is a naturally occurring tryptamine that is produced by the human body and is found in many plants and animals.
Its role in the human body is not understood, but the intense psychedelic experiences DMT produces have been likened to a near-death experiences.
However, It is now being trialled as a potential cure for depression for the first time - and scientists says it has the potential to offer longer-term relief from symptoms, when used in a therapeutic setting.
Small Pharma, the company running the trial says: "The fact that DMT is endogenously produced in the brain, provides confidence for the safety of DMT.
"The psychedelic effects last for approximately 20 minutes, compared to 6-8 hours for psilocybin, giving it practical clinical applicability.
Small Pharma's chief scientific officer told the BBC: "We believe the impact will be almost immediate, and longer lasting than conventional antidepressants."
She likened the drug to "shaking a snow globe" and says it is thought it disrupts entrenched negative thought patterns, which the therapy allows to be resettled into a more functional form."
It will be the first time DMT has been given to people with moderate to severe depression in a clinical trial.
The trial comes as a ketamine-assisted therapy clinic is set to open in Bristol.
Ketamine is already used for depression, but it is not currently accompanied by psychotherapy.
Unpublished research by Celia Morgan, a professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter, suggests ketamine accompanied by therapy has many longer-lasting effects.
Presenting her research at a conference, Prof Morgan said there was mounting evidence that drugs including psilocybin - the active ingredient in magic mushrooms - LSD, ketamine and MDMA (Ecstasy), were safe to use in the treatment of mental health disorders.
"These drugs seem to allow you to approach difficult experiences in your life, sit with that distress and process them," she told the BBC.
However, Prof Morgan also said it was important the drugs were used within therapy setting and acknowledged concerns that "people might think they can give it a go with some recreational drugs".
"But it's really not how it works" she said.
Prof Michael Bloomfield, a consultant psychiatrist at University College London, told the BBC that said although psychedelic drugs are "really exciting" area of research, caution was needed in overpromising the drugs' potential.
He also said it was field of therapy that could be open to abuse and misuse, he said.
