The threshold lowering effects of MDMA (ecstasy) on brain-stimulation reward.
C B Hubner, M Bird, S Rassnick, C Kornetsky
Psychopharmacology 1988 DOI: 10.1007/bf00212765 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 4 |
| Population | Rats with electrodes implanted in the medial forebrain bundle-lateral hypothalamic area |
| Intervention | MDMA |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | MDMA produced a dose-related lowering of the intracranial self-stimulation reward threshold in all four rats tested. The authors suggest that, because lowered reward thresholds are an animal model of drug-induced euphoria, MDMA's reinforcing effects may share a similar mode of action with other abused substances. |
Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a psychoactive phenylisopropylamine which is structurally similar to both amphetamine-related sympathomimetics and the hallucinogen, mescaline. MDMA produces pleasurable effects which include euphoria, and recent reports continue to demonstrate its widespread recreational use. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of racemic MDMA on the threshold for rewarding intracranial self-stimulation, an animal model used to assess a drug's abuse liability in man. Rewarding electrical stimulation was delivered via electrodes stereotaxically implanted in the medial forebrain bundle-lateral hypothalamic area of the rat brain. Thresholds were determined by means of a rate-independent psychophysical method. MDMA produced a dose-related lowering of the reward threshold in all four animals tested. Given that increased sensitivity for rewarding brain stimulation, measured as a lowering of the reward threshold, is an animal model of drug-induced euphoria these results suggest a similar mode of action for its reinforcing effects as other abused substances.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 20
- 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”): pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans Addiction May 1, 1994
- The Reinforcing and Rewarding Effects of Methylone, a Synthetic Cathinone Commonly Found in “Bath Salts” Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy December 1, 2012
- ‘Ecstasy’ as a social drug: MDMA preferentially affects responses to emotional stimuli with social content Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 27, 2014
- History of MDMA Ecstasy: The Clinical, Pharmacological and Neurotoxicological Effects of the Drug MDMA 1990
- Assessment of the Reinforcing Properties of Orally Administered MDMA ('Ecstasy') in Rats 2010
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