MDMA enhances associative and nonassociative learning in the rabbit.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior February 1994 DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(94)90012-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | MDMA |
| Dose | 0.95, 1.9, and 3.8 mg/kg |
| Duration | 10 sessions |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | MDMA enhanced associative learning at doses of 0.95 and 1.9 mg/kg but not at 3.8 mg/kg, with the effect most pronounced when light served as the conditioned stimulus. MDMA also increased the amplitude of the unconditioned response to a corneal air puff across 10 sessions, which the authors interpret as sensitization. The authors argue this dual enhancement of conditioned and unconditioned responding may be unique to phenylethylamine drugs like MDMA and MDA. |
Abstract
The rate of associative learning was assessed in the presence of saline versus methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) at doses of 0.95, 1.9, and 3.8 mg/kg. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were lights and tones and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was a corneal air puff. Learning was enhanced by all but the highest dose of drug tested, and the enhancement was most pronounced when light was used as the conditioned stimulus. Nonassociative responding was assessed using unpaired presentations of the lights, tones, and air puffs. MDMA (1.9 mg/kg) produced a slight increase in the percentage of baseline responses but failed to produce an increase in the frequency of nonassociative responding in the presence of the lights or tones. MDMA produced a significant increase in the amplitude of the unconditioned response to the corneal air puff across the 10 sessions. This increase was taken as evidence for sensitization of the unconditioned response, a nonassociative learning phenomenon. In summary, MDMA, like the parent compound methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), enhances both conditioned and unconditioned responding. Because this dual effect has not been seen with related psychedelic compounds, the effect appears to be unique to this class of phenylethylamine drugs.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amphetamine-type central nervous system stimulants release norepinephrine more potently than they release dopamine and serotonin | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) cause selective ablation of serotonergic axon terminals in forebrain: immunocytochemical evidence for neurotoxicity Rat brain | 1988 | Experimental study | |
| The molecular mechanism of "ecstasy" [3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)]: serotonin transporters are targets for MDMA-induced serotonin release. Human platelet plasma membrane vesicles and bovine adrenal chromaffin granule membrane... | 1992 | Laboratory study | |
| Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA | 2019 | Experimental study | |
| Effects of certain hallucinogenic amphetamine analogs on the release of [3H]-serotonin from rat brain synaptosomes Rat whole brain synaptosomes | 1982 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Serotonin 2A receptors are a stress response system: implications for post-traumatic stress disorder. Behavioural Pharmacology April 1, 2019
- Deconstructing Ecstasy: The Politics Of Mdma Research Addiction Research & Theory 2000
- Intrahippocampal LSD accelerates learning and desensitizes the 5-HT(2A) receptor in the rabbit, Romano et al. Psychopharmacology October 1, 2010
- Behavioral profiles in rats distinguish among "ecstasy," methamphetamine and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: Mixed effects for "ecstasy" analogues. Behavioral Neuroscience October 1, 2010
- Hallucinogens. Pharmacology & Therapeutics February 1, 2004
and 2 more in the library
Cites 9
- Receptor Pharmacology of MDMA and Related Hallucinogensa Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences October 1, 1990
- Sensory and associative effects of LSD in classical conditioning of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) nictitating membrane response. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 1980
- Enhanced learning following a single, acute dose of MDA. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior April 1993
- Effects of the serotonin releasers 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 4-chloroamphetamine (PCA) and fenfluramine on acoustic and tactile startle reflexes in rats. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1992
- Choroid plexus epithelial cells in primary culture: a model of 5HT1C receptor activation by hallucinogenic drugs. Psychopharmacology 1991
and 4 more in the library