Reinforcing Effects of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) in Drug-Naive and Cocaine-Trained Rats
Elisabeth Ratzenboeck, Alois Saria, Norbert Kriechbaum, Gerald Zernig
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats |
| Interventions | MDMA cocaine |
| Dose | 0.032–10 mg/(kg·injection) |
| Topics | Addiction MDMA |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Pharmacology Population Drugs of abuse Anesthesia |
| Citations | 97 |
| Key findings | MDMA's reinforcing effect did not differ between drug-naive and cocaine-trained rats, and MDMA and cocaine produce distinct interoceptive stimuli. |
Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ‘ecstasy’) is one of the most prevalent illegal drugs of abuse among European adolescents, a population not generally experienced with respect to ‘hard’ drugs such as cocaine. We, therefore, determined the reinforcing effect of intravenously self-administered MDMA in a fixed ratio 1 time-out 150 s schedule of reinforcement in rats that were truly drug naive and compared it to cocaine-trained rats. The reinforcing effect of MDMA [0.032–10 mg/(kg·injection)] did not differ between drug-naive rats and cocaine-trained ones. MDMA sensitized the animals to its own rate-increasing effect but not to that of cocaine. When MDMA was tested after cocaine, there was no carryover of cocaine’s reinforcing effect to that of MDMA, suggesting that MDMA and cocaine produce distinct interoceptive stimuli in rats.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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MDMA was self-administered by rats, with reinforcing effects that did not differ between drug-naive and cocaine-trained animals.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA for addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neurotoxic Effects of MDMA on Brain Serotonin Neurons: Evidence from Neurochemical and Radioligand Binding Studiesa Rats and rhesus monkeys | 1990 | Review | |
| Enhancement of conditioned place preference response to cocaine in rats following subchronic administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Male Sprague-Dawley rats | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Contribution of impulsivity and novelty-seeking to the acquisition and maintenance of MDMA self-administration Rats | 2012 | Observational cohort | |
| Profile of MDMA Self-Administration from a Large Cohort of Rats: MDMA Develops a Profile of Dependence with Extended Testing Rats | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 128 |
| Involvement of NMDA glutamate receptors in the acquisition and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference induced by MDMA Adolescent male mice | 2015 | Experimental study |