If I had to hypothesize, I'd say that most hallucinogens generally stimulate lower-levels of the neocortex's sensory perception hierarchy, resulting in a distor

If I had to hypothesize, I'd say that most hallucinogens generally stimulate lower-levels of the neocortex's sensory perception hierarchy, resulting in a distorted and more vivid experience of basic things like colors, textures, etc. But DMT is somehow particularly able to stimulate a higher-level representation that corresponds with the perception of a fellow intelligent creature. This is combined semi-randomly with one or more high-level representation of animals and objects to create the perception of intelligent "aliens" with a bizarre form.