Skip to content

MDMA pretreatment leads to mild chronic unpredictable stress-induced impairments in spatial learning.

Jacobi I. Cunningham, Jamie Raudensky, John Tonkiss, Bryan K. Yamamoto

Behavioral Neuroscience October 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1037/a0016716 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Population Rats
Interventions MDMA mild chronic unpredictable stress
Duration 10 days of chronic unpredictable stress, preceded by MDMA pretreatment 7 days earlier
Topics MDMA Serotonin
Keywords Serotonin transporter Hippocampus Chronic stress Hallucinogen Pharmacology
Citations 27
Post-publication review 1 comment on PubPeer (opens in new tab) · last active September 2016
Key findings Prior MDMA exposure leads to stress-induced learning impairments in rats that are not seen with stress alone and are unrelated to enhanced hippocampal serotonin transporter depletion.

Abstract

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a drug of abuse worldwide and a selective serotonin (5-HT) neurotoxin. An important factor in the risk of drug abuse and relapse is stress. Although multiple parallels exist between MDMA abuse and stress, including effects on 5-HTergic neurotransmission, few studies have investigated the consequences of combined exposure to MDMA and chronic stress. Therefore, rats were pretreated with MDMA and exposed 7 days later to 10 days of mild chronic unpredictable stress (CUS). MDMA pretreatment was hypothesized to enhance the effects of CUS leading to enhanced 5-HT transporter (SERT) depletion in the hippocampus and increased anxiety and cognitive impairment. Whereas MDMA alone increased anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze, CUS alone or in combination with MDMA pretreatment did not increase anxiety-like behavior. In contrast, MDMA pretreatment led to CUS-induced learning impairment in the Morris water maze but not an enhanced depletion of hippocampal SERT protein. These results show that prior exposure to MDMA leads to stress-induced impairments in learning behavior that is not otherwise observed with stress alone and appear unrelated to an enhanced depletion of SERT.

Comparable studies

Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Neurotoxicity of the psychedelic amphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Rats (implied by typical neurochemical study context) 1987 Experimental study
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine destroy serotonin terminals in rat brain: quantification of neurodegeneration by measurement of [3H]paroxetine-labeled serotonin uptake sites. Rat brain 1987 Animal experiment
Comparison of the monoamine transporters from human and mouse in their sensitivities to psychostimulant drugs Human and mouse dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin transporters expressed in cells 2006 In vitro laboratory study
Small Changes in Ambient Temperature Cause Large Changes in 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-Induced Serotonin Neurotoxicity and Core Body Temperature in the Rat Rats 1998 Experimental study
Altered Serotonin Innervation Patterns in the Forebrain of Monkeys Treated with (±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Seven Years Previously: Factors Influencing Abnormal Recovery Squirrel monkeys treated with MDMA 1999 Observational cohort

Citations in the library

Cited by 7

and 2 more in the library

Cites 3

Related reading

Explore topics

MDMA Serotonin Anxiety