Journal of Psychopharmacology
June 27, 2005
Franz X. Vollenweider, Matthias E. Liechti, Martin P. Paulus
24 citations
Decision-making, i.e. selecting an action from a number of alternatives when the outcome is uncertain, is a complex process that is important for everyday life. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as 'Ecstasy', is a widely used recreational drug that is known to increase serotonin (5-HT) and, to a lesser extent, dopamine (DA) in animals. This study examined whether MDMA alters...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 2005
C H Ashton, P B Moore, P Gallagher et al.
Bipolar affective disorder is often poorly controlled by prescribed drugs. Cannabis use is common in patients with this disorder and anecdotal reports suggest that some patients take it to alleviate symptoms of both mania and depression. We undertook a literature review of cannabis use by patients with bipolar disorder and of the neuropharmacological properties of cannabinoids suggesting...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2005
David M. Semple, Andrew M. McIntosh, Stephen M. Lawrie
Various lines of evidence suggest an association between cannabis and psychosis. Five years ago, the only significant case-control study addressing this question was the Swedish Conscript Cohort. Within the last few years, other studies have emerged, allowing the evidence for cannabis as a risk factor to be more systematically reviewed and assessed. Using specific search criteria on Embase,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2005
A. C. Parrott
241 citations
This review of chronic tolerance to MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine) covers the empirical data on dosage escalation, reduced subjective efficacy and bingeing in recreational Ecstasy users. Novice users generally take a single Ecstasy tablet, regular users typically take 2-3 tablets, whereas the most experienced users may take 10-25 tablets in a single session. Reduced subjective efficacy...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 2005
Harry Sumnall, Jon C. Cole
National drugs information strategies convey the message that use of Ecstasy is associated with an increase in both the incidence and severity of major depressive disorder. However, very little primary research supports this. Unlike apparent deficits in higher cognitive functions, most published studies have found no difference in self-reported depressive symptomatology between Ecstasy users...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 1, 2004
Verónica Sánchez, Esther O’shea, Kathryn S. Saadat et al.
66 citations
The technique of ‘binge’ dosing (several doses in one session) by recreational users of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) requires evaluation in terms of its consequences on the acute hyperthermic response and long-term neurotoxicity. We examined the neurotoxic effects of this dosing schedule on 5-HT and dopamineneurones in the rat brain. When repeated (three) doses of MDMA (2,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
December 1, 2003
C. T. J. Lamers, Johannes G. Ramaekers, N. D. Muntjewerff et al.
105 citations
Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is a psychoactive recreational drug widely used by young people visiting dance parties, and has been associated with poor cognitive function. The current study assessed the influence of a single dose of MDMA 75 mg and alcohol 0.5 g/kg on cognition, psychomotor performance and driving-related task performance. Twelve healthy recreational ecstasy...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2003
Z Abdul-Monim, G P Reynolds, J C Neill
The glutamate/N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) has been shown to induce both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as cognitive deficits, thus providing a relatively valid model of psychosis. Isolation rearing from weaning in the rat has been proposed as a non-pharmacological model of psychosis. The aim of the present study was to explore the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2003
Torsten Passie, Matthias Karst, Mathias Borsutzky et al.
27 citations
The role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmitter system in relation to psychoses is not completely understood, but represent a challenge in neurobiological research. The psychotic states induced by NMDA antagonists such as phencyclidine and ketamine have been described as being most similar to schizophrenia and the NMDA system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2001
Nicholas Macinnes, Sheila L. Handley, G. F. A. Harding
120 citations
Previous work has indicated recreational use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) is associated with elevated scores on self-report measures of depression. We sought to examine the long-term effects of consumption on depression in a group of individuals who had consumed large quantities of the drug in the past, but were now leading relatively drug free lives. Respondents to this...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2000
Matthias E. Liechti, Franz X. Vollenweider
144 citations
MDMA (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or ‘Ecstasy’ is a widely used recreational drug that produces a state of heightened mood but also cardiovascular and vegetative side-effects. In animals, MDMA releases serotonin and, to a lesser extent, dopamine and norepinephrine. The release of serotonin can be blocked by serotonin uptake inhibitors such as citalopram. It is unknown to what extent...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2000
G A Yorston, R Gray
A case of hypnopompic hallucinations associated with donepezil is described. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and sleep EEG changes are common in Alzheimers Disease and acetylcholinesterase inhibitor drugs can affect rapid eye movement sleep and alertness. The importance of assessing sleep in patients treated with these drugs is discussed.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
1998
A. C. Parrott, A. J. Lees, N. J. Garnham et al.
226 citations
Cognitive task performance was assessed in three groups of young people: 10 regular users of 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) who had taken 'ecstasy' 10 times or more; 10 novice MDMA users who had taken 'ecstasy' one to nine times; and 10 control subjects who had never taken MDMA. A computerized battery of cognitive tasks (Cognitive Drug Research system) was undertaken on a day when...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
1998
D.V. Gauvin, S.A. Vanecek, T.J. Baird et al.
Two groups of rats were trained in a two-choice drug discrimination procedure under a fixed-ratio 10 schedule of food reinforcement. One group of rats ( n=12) was trained to discriminate the presence and absence of a drug mixture containing 10 mg/kg dextromethorphan + 10 mg/kg diphenhydramine. The other group of rats ( n=12) was trained to discriminate the presence and absence of another drug...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1996
G C Harborne, F L Watson, D T Healy et al.
The cognitive and subjective effects of sub-anaesthetic doses of ketamine on healthy volunteers were examined. Twelve healthy volunteers received 25 mg ketamine, 10 mg ketamine and saline placebo, i.m. in a double-blind, Latin square design. A cognitive, perceptual and self-report test battery was administered over 45 min. The order of tests was rotated to control for timing effects. Ketamine...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 1995
Hugh Series, Marisa Le Masurier, Sarah E. Gartside et al.
13 citations
The amphetamine derivatives p-chloroamphetamine (pCA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy') and D-fenfluramine can, if given repeatedly in high doses to rats, produce a degeneration of serotonergic nerve terminals which we have previously shown to result in a reduction in D-fenfluramine-evoked release of 5-HT in vivo. It is therefore possible that fenfluramine-evoked responses...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
1994
Hugh Series, Sietske Boeles, Eluned Dorkins et al.
44 citations
Two case reports are presented of significant psychiatric disorders associated with ingestion of 'Ecstasy' (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), a recreational drug whose use appears to be increasing. In one case, the patient developed a brief paranoid psychosis which recurred and persisted for at least a month after he took a second dose of the drug. In the other, the patient experienced...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 1993
Danny Allen, David Nutt
3 citations
Sleep paralysis is a clinical phenomenon that is often a feature of narcolepsy. As its co-existence with panic disorder has not been noted before, we report on two cases in which the two conditions co-exist and postulate a neurochemical mechanism.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 1992
David Healy
In recent years a conjunction of factors have brought questions surrounding the phenomenology and pharmacology of altered states of consciousness back onto the scientific agenda. These factors primarily involve the re-classification of psychiatric disorders that took place in 1980 with the publication of DSM III, which contained a number of syndromes that could be characterized in terms of...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1992
R Munglani, J G Jones
In this article parallels are drawn between sleep and anaesthesia. Both can be described as 'behavioural states' in which stimulation and inhibition of certain neuronal groups will give rise to specific psychological states. The neuronal mechanisms leading to these states are reviewed and compared. Sensory information flow through the thalamus is reduced in sleep and anaesthesia, the thalamic...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1992
E F Domino
Since the mid-1950s the pharmaceutical industry has developed a number of chemicals, including phencyclidine, ketamine and related arylcyclohexylamines (PCE and TCP), dizocilpine (MK-801), N-allylnormetazocine [ NANM, (±)SKF-10,047], etoxadrol, dioxadrol and its enantiomers dexoxadrol and levoxadrol, which produce a constellation of unusual behavioral effects in animals and man. The compounds...