Hallucinogenic N-methylated indolealkylamines in the cerebrospinal fluid of psychiatric and control populations.

The incidence and quantities of dimethyltryptamine and O-methylbufotenine were studied in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients suffering acute schizophrenic illnesses and in surgical and neurological control groups. Some schizophrenic patients have higher levels of both amines than do controls, though the differences in distribution did not reach statistical significance in the sample studied. The gas-chromatographic technique used is sensitive at the low picogram level.