Contributions of brain glutamate to conscious emotion are not well understood. Here we evaluate the relationship of experimentally-induced change in neocortical glutamate (ΔGlu) and subjective states in well individuals. Drug challenge withd-amphetamine (AMP; 20 mg oral), methamphetamine (MA; Desoxyn®, 20 mg oral), and placebo (PBO) was conducted on three separate test days in a within-subjects double blind design. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) quantified neurometabolites in the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) 140–150 m post-drug and PBO. Subjective states were assessed at half hour intervals over 5.5-hours on each session, yielding 3,792 responses per participant (91,008 responses overall,N=24 participants). Self-reports were reduced by principal components analysis to a single factor score of AMP- and MA-induced Positive Agency (ΔPA) in each participant. We found drug-induced ΔGlu related positively with ΔPA (ΔGluMAr=+.44,p<.05,N=21), with large effects in females (ΔGluMAr=+.52,p<.05; ΔGluAMPr=+.61,p<.05,N=11). States related to ΔGlu in females included rise in subjective stimulation, vigor, friendliness, elation, positive mood, positive affect (r’s=+.51 to +.74,p<.05), and alleviation of anxiety (r=−.61,p<.05,N=11). Self-reports correlated with DGlu to the extent they loaded on ΔPA (r=.95 AMP,p=5×10−10;r=.63 MA,p=.0015,N=11), indicating coherence of ΔGlu effects. Timing data indicated Glu shaped emotion both concurrently and prospectively, with no relationship to pre-MRS emotion (ΔGluAMPr=+.59 to +.65,p’s<.05; ΔGluMAr=+.53,p<.05,N=11). Together these findings indicate substantive, mechanistic contributions of neocortical Glu to positive agentic states in healthy individuals, most readily observed in women.