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melatonin plays a major role in the early morning temperature drop found in all of us.!° 66 +* THE BUILDING BLOCKS Administering melatonin back to the volunteers caused body tempera- ture to fall in a typical manner. From these results, we proposed that Most important to me were results from several rating scales that measured the psychological properties of melatonin. My reading led me to hope for some profound mind-altering effects of this pineal product. However, we found that melatonin produced little more than sedation and relaxation. I was disappointed by the lack of significant mind-altering effects of melatonin. So, toward the end of this project, when I got a call late one night from the research unit telling me that one of our volunteers acciden- tally received about ten times the normal dose of melatonin, it was difficult to mask my excitement. This might be very interesting. If low doses of melatonin had such timid effects, this accident might breathe some life into my pursuit of its psychological properties. I listened carefully to the research nurse's description of how the staff miscalculated the delivery rate of melatonin. It seemed an honest mis- take. In addition, the volunteer's heart rate and blood pressure were holding up fine. It was his state of mind, however, that drew most of my concern. "How's he doing?" I asked. "Well," she yawned, "I'm having an awfully hard time keeping him awake to fill out his rating scales. He can't keep his eyes open." "He's not hallucinating or anything?" I offered hopefully. "No such luck for you, Dr. Strassman," she laughed in reply. "No, no, I'm glad he's fine," I said, quickly returning to a more pro- fessional tone. This event, more than any other, convinced me that melatonin was not psychedelic. However, my reading continued to persuade me that the pi- neal gland was the prime site in which to search for a spirit molecule. Let's turn to that information, and the ideas that developed while ponder- ing it. In doing so, we'll begin to consider a DMT-forming function for the pineal gland.