Comparing tryptamines: psilocybin, DMT, 4-AcO-DMT — mechanisms and experience differences

Duration is the biggest practical difference and it's pharmacologically driven. DMT is broken down almost immediately in the body — minutes. Psilocybin is converted to psilocin, which is much more slowly metabolized — hours. Same basic mechanism (5-HT2A agonism), radically different temporal profile.

Psilocybin also has different receptor binding than DMT. While both are primarily 5-HT2A agonists, their binding affinity profiles across subtypes differ, and psilocin has longer receptor residence time. This probably contributes to the different experiential character beyond just duration.

4-AcO-DMT is essentially a prodrug of psilocin — nearly identical pharmacology to psilocybin. People who've had both often find the experiences indistinguishable. The difference between psilocybin and smoked DMT is large; the difference between psilocybin and 4-AcO-DMT is small.