Cognitive and behavioural effects induced by social stress plus MDMA administration in mice.
María P García-Pardo, Concepción Roger-Sánchez, Marta Rodríguez‐arias, José Miñarro, María A. Aguilar
Behavioural Brain Research February 15, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.11.012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled experimental animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Late adolescent male mice |
| Interventions | 3 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) |
| Dose | 10 mg/kg MDMA after each defeat; 5 mg/kg MDMA before the open-field test |
| Duration | Four social defeat encounters on alternate days, followed by behavioural testing on subsequent days |
| Measures | tail suspension test, passive avoidance, object recognition, open-field test, corticosterone levels, body temperature |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Drug dependence Motor activity Object recognition Passive avoidance Social defeat Tail suspension test |
| Key findings | Mice exposed to acute social defeat combined with MDMA showed increased depression-like behaviour, cognitive impairment, and a reduced motor response to MDMA, alongside higher corticosterone and lower temperature. The authors argue that social stress combined with MDMA use increases vulnerability to mental and cognitive disorders and may contribute to the comorbidity between substance abuse and mental illness. |
Abstract
Adverse life experiences such as social stress may make an individual more vulnerable to drug addiction and mental disorders associated with drug consumption. The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of stress induced by acute social defeat combined with the administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on depression-like behaviour, memory function and motor response to drug in late adolescent male mice. Two groups of mice were exposed to social defeat (SD) during four encounters with an aggressive co-specific, which took place on alternate days. Immediately after defeat, animals were treated with saline or MDMA 10mg/kg (SD+SAL and SD+MDMA). In control groups, mice were placed in a neutral cage without an opponent (Control+SAL, Control+MDMA). Corticosterone levels and temperature were measured on the last day of this phase. During the following days, the behaviour of the animals was evaluated in the tail suspension test (an animal model of depression), memory tasks (passive avoidance and object recognition) and, after administration of 5mg/kg of MDMA, in the open-field test. Exposure of adult mice to acute social defeat plus MDMA increased immobility in the tail suspension test (depression-like behaviour), produced cognitive impairment, and reduced the motor response to MDMA. An increase in corticosterone levels and a decrease of temperature were also observed. As hypothesised, a combination of social stress and consumption of MDMA increases the risk of developing mental and cognitive disorders. Our results support the idea that stress is a common contributing factor to the high rate of comorbidity between substance abuse and mental disease.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor protects serotonergic neurons against 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“Ecstasy”) induced cytoskeletal damage Journal of Neural Transmission June 1, 2022
- A Systematic Review of the MDMA Model to Address Social Impairment in Autism. Current Neuropharmacology 2021
- Of mice and men on MDMA: a translational comparison of the neuropsychobiological effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ('Ecstasy'). Brain Research November 14, 2019
- Cognitive Effects of MDMA in Laboratory Animals: A Systematic Review Focusing on Dose. Pharmacological Reviews July 1, 2019
- Differential effects of MDMA and cocaine on inhibitory avoidance and object recognition tests in rodents. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory December 2017
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and 9 more in the library