Effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on socioemotional feelings, authenticity, and autobiographical disclosure in healthy volunteers in a controlled setting.
Matthew J. Baggott, Jeremy Coyle, Jennifer D. Siegrist, Kathleen J Garrison, Gantt P. Galloway, John Mendelson
Journal of Psychopharmacology April 2016 DOI: 10.1177/0269881115626348 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects double-blind placebo-controlled study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Adults receiving MDMA in a controlled setting (participants in a small within-subjects study) |
| Intervention | 3 |
| Dose | 1.5 mg/kg oral MDMA |
| Topics | Anxiety MDMA |
| Keywords | 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine Authenticity Emotion Entactogen Interpersonal Social |
| Key points | MDMA produced mixed effects: it increased self-reported anxiety and had both sedative- and stimulant-like effects, yet it also increased feelings of authenticity, decreased social anxiety about negative evaluation, and made participants more comfortable describing emotional memories. The authors characterize this as a prosocial syndrome facilitating emotional disclosure and suggest MDMA may represent a novel pharmacological class. |
Abstract
The drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy", "molly") is a widely used illicit drug and experimental adjunct to psychotherapy. MDMA has unusual, poorly understood socioemotional effects, including feelings of interpersonal closeness and sociability. To better understand these effects, we conducted a small (n=12) within-subjects double-blind placebo controlled study of the effects of 1.5 mg/kg oral MDMA on social emotions and autobiographical disclosure in a controlled setting. MDMA displayed both sedative- and stimulant-like effects, including increased self-report anxiety. At the same time, MDMA positively altered evaluation of the self (i.e. increasing feelings of authenticity) while decreasing concerns about negative evaluation by others (i.e. decreasing social anxiety). Consistent with these feelings, MDMA increased how comfortable participants felt describing emotional memories. Overall, MDMA produced a prosocial syndrome that seemed to facilitate emotional disclosure and that appears consistent with the suggestion that it represents a novel pharmacological class.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on MDMA for anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 50
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- 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized phase 2 controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology December 1, 2018
- Adverse events in clinical treatments with serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA: A mixed-methods systematic review Journal of Psychopharmacology August 26, 2022
- Long-term follow-up outcomes of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: a longitudinal pooled analysis of six phase 2 trials. Psychopharmacology August 1, 2020
- Safety pharmacology of acute MDMA administration in healthy subjects Journal of Psychopharmacology February 21, 2017
and 45 more in the library
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- Durability of improvement in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and absence of harmful effects or drug dependency after 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy: a prospective long-term follow-up study. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2013
and 15 more in the library