Differences in prefrontal blood oxygenation during an acute multitasking stressor in ecstasy polydrug users.
C A Roberts, M A Wetherell, John E. Fisk, C Montgomery
Psychological Medicine January 2015 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714001500 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 56 |
| Population | Ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users, and drug-naive individuals |
| Measures | NASA Task Load Index, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Cognition Fnirs |
| Key findings | Ecstasy polydrug users showed no significant differences from polydrug users or drug-naive individuals on multitasking performance or perceived workload, but reported feeling less calm and less relaxed than drug-naive controls. They also showed decreased blood oxygenation in prefrontal cortex regions during the task, which the authors suggest may be related to cerebral vasoconstriction. |
Abstract
Cognitive deficits are well documented in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) users, with such deficits being taken as evidence of dysregulation of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system. More recently neuroimaging has been used to corroborate these deficits. The present study aimed to assess multitasking performance in ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users and drug-naive individuals. It was predicted that ecstasy polydrug users would perform worse than non-users on the behavioural measure and this would be supported by differences in cortical blood oxygenation. In the study, 20 ecstasy-polydrug users, 17 polydrug users and 19 drug-naive individuals took part. On day 1, drug use history was taken and questionnaire measures were completed. On day 2, participants completed a 20-min multitasking stressor while brain blood oxygenation was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). There were no significant differences between the three groups on the subscales of the multitasking stressor. In addition, there were no significant differences on self-report measures of perceived workload (NASA Task Load Index). In terms of mood, ecstasy users were significantly less calm and less relaxed compared with drug-naive controls. There were also significant differences at three voxels on the fNIRS, indicating decreased blood oxygenation in ecstasy users compared with drug-naive controls at voxel 2 (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), voxel 14 and voxel 16 (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and compared with polydrug controls at V14. The results of the present study provide support for changes in brain activation during performance of demanding tasks in ecstasy polydrug users, which could be related to cerebral vasoconstriction.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug Recreational Ecstasy users recruited via snowball peer network | 1992 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 100 |
| Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls | 1999 | Cross-sectional association study | n = 20 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Patterns of recreational drug use at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland Drug users at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, aged 16-47, 80% between 18 and... | 2001 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 122 |
| Acute, sub‐acute and long‐term subjective consequences of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) consumption in 430 regular users Regular MDMA users | 2003 | Cross-sectional study | n = 466 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- MDMA and brain activity during neurocognitive performance: An overview of neuroimaging studies with abstinent ‘Ecstasy’ users Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 8, 2017
- Measuring acute effects of subanesthetic ketamine on cerebrovascular hemodynamics in humans using TD-fNIRS. Scientific Reports July 19, 2023
- Recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or 'ecstasy': Current perspective and future research prospects. Journal of Psychopharmacology August 2017
- Updating of working memory in ecstasy polydrug users: Findings from fNIRS. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental May 2017
- Cognitive and behavioural effects induced by social stress plus MDMA administration in mice. Behavioural Brain Research February 15, 2017
Cites 14
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- In Vivo Imaging of Cerebral Serotonin Transporter and Serotonin2A Receptor Binding in 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) and Hallucinogen Users Archives of General Psychiatry June 6, 2011
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and 9 more in the library