June 14, 2018
Carl Alexander Roberts, Catharine Montgomery
1 citation
Ecstasy/3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine is a popular recreational drug that is a potent indirect monoaminergic agonist that has structural similarities to mescaline and amphetamine. It is presumed that interfering with regulatory serotonin signalling with chronic ecstasy use may result in psychobiological harm. This chapter reviews evidence from studies assessing mood, cognition, pain, sleep...
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
August 8, 2017
Carl Alexander Roberts, Boris B. Quednow, Catharine Montgomery et al.
25 citations
MDMA/Ecstasy has had a resurgence in popularity, with recent supplies comprising higher strength MDMA, potentially leading to increased drug-related harm. Neurocognitive problems have been widely reported in ecstasy users, equally some studies report null findings, and it remains unclear which factors underlie the development of neurocognitive impairments. This review covers the empirical...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
May 2017
Catharine Montgomery, John E. Fisk, Carl A Roberts
Cognitive deficits are now well documented in ecstasy (MDMA) users with type and relative demand of task emerging as important factors. The updating component of executive processes appears to be particularly affected. The study reported here used functional near infrared spectroscopy imaging to investigate changes in cortical haemodynamics during memory updating. Twenty ecstasy users and 20...
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
April 2016
Carl Alexander Roberts, Andrew Jones, Catharine Montgomery
We conducted a meta-analysis on the available data from studies investigating SERTs in ecstasy users and polydrug using controls. From 7 studies we compared data from 157 ecstasy users and 148 controls across 14 brain regions. The main effect suggested ecstasy/MDMA related SERT reductions (SMD=0.52, 95% CIs [0.40, 0.65]; Z=8.36, p<.01, I(2)=89%). A significant effect of subgroups (X(2)=37.41,...
Behavioural Pharmacology
July 11, 2014
A. C. Parrott, Catharine Montgomery, Mark Wetherell et al.
34 citations
Stress develops when an organism requires additional metabolic resources to cope with demanding situations. This review will debate how recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') can increase some aspects of acute and chronic stress in humans. Laboratory studies on the acute effects of MDMA on cortisol release and neurohormone levels in drug-free regular ecstasy/MDMA users...
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
December 2013
Carl A Roberts, Stephen H Fairclough, Francis P McGlone et al.
Executive functioning deficits are reported in ecstasy users. However research into mental set switching has been equivocal, with behavioral studies suggesting the function is preserved. The current study sought to address the issue of switching deficits in ecstasy users by combining behavioral performance with electrophysiological correlates (electroencephalography; EEG). Twenty ecstasy...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
March 1, 2012
Catharine Montgomery, Alexandra L. Seddon, John E. Fisk et al.
56 citations
BACKGROUND: Research shows that cannabis users exhibit deficits in prospective memory (PM) and executive function, which persist beyond acute intoxication. However, many studies rely on self-reports of memory failures or use laboratory-based measures that may not mimic functional deficits in the real world. The present study aimed to assess real-world memory functioning. METHOD: Twenty...
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
September 7, 2011
Philip N. Murphy, Philip G. Erwin, L. Maciver et al.
9 citations
This study aimed to examine the relationship between the consumption of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)) and cannabis, and performance on the random letter generation task which generates dependent variables drawing upon executive inhibition and access to semantic long-term memory (LTM). The participant group was a between-participant independent variable with users of both...
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
June 1, 2011
John E. Fisk, Catharine Montgomery, Florentia Hadjiefthyvoulou
13 citations
OBJECTIVE: Previous research suggests that ecstasy users are impaired in processing visuospatial information. However, for the most part, the deficits observed appear to involve the recall and recognition of complex visual and geometric patterns. The present research sought to determine whether ecstasy use was associated with deficits in serial spatial recall and visuospatial working memory...
Psychopharmacology
June 2011
Florentia Hadjiefthyvoulou, John E. Fisk, Catharine Montgomery et al.
Prospective memory (PM) deficits in recreational drug users have been documented in recent years. However, the assessment of PM has largely been restricted to self-reported measures that fail to capture the distinction between event-based and time-based PM. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation. Extending our previous research, we augmented the range laboratory measures of...
Neuropsychobiology
2009
Philip N. Murphy, Michelle Wareing, John E. Fisk et al.
49 citations
<i>Aims:</i> This review examined studies of executive functioning in abstinent ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) users on tasks which had been empirically mapped onto updating, shifting, inhibition and accessing long-term memory executive processes. Studies of some aspects of visuospatial memory performance were also included because of the investment of executive resources in...
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
2005
Catharine Montgomery, John E. Fisk, Russell Newcombe et al.
22 citations
Previous research has demonstrated working memory and executive deficits in recreational users of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; Ecstasy). In turn, both of these constructs have been implicated in syllogistic reasoning performance. Twenty-two MDMA users (mean age = 21.36) and 26 MDMA nonuser controls (mean age = 21.31) were tested on syllogisms of varying difficulty and on measures of...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
May 5, 2004
Michelle Wareing, John E. Fisk, Philip N. Murphy et al.
76 citations
Abstract Previous research suggests that MDMA users are impaired in various aspects of cognitive functioning, however, it remains unclear whether they might experience deficits in established measures of verbal working memory functioning. In the present study current and previous MDMA users were compared with non‐users on verbal working memory measures including reading and computation span....