MDMA ("ecstasy") impairs learning in the Morris Water Maze and reduces hippocampal LTP in young rats.
Alejandra Arias-Cavieres, Carlos Rozas, Miguel Reyes-Parada, Nelson Barrera, Floria Pancetti, Sebastian Loyola, Ramón A Lorca, Marc L Zeise, Bernardo Morales
Neuroscience Letters January 29, 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.12.031 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Young rats |
| Intervention | MDMA |
| Dose | 0.2 and 2 mg/kg s.c. twice per day |
| Duration | 6 days |
| Measures | Morris Water Maze, long-term potentiation (LTP), serotonin levels, paired-pulse facilitation |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | MDMA at 0.2 and 2 mg/kg twice daily for six days impaired visuo-spatial learning and reduced hippocampal LTP in a dose-dependent manner, without altering serotonin levels or paired-pulse facilitation. The authors conclude that low, nontoxic doses of MDMA slow learning by impairing postsynaptic plasticity. |
Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), an important recreational psychostimulant drug, was examined for its ability to alter visuo-spatial learning and synaptic plasticity. Young rats received MDMA (0.2 and 2mg/kg s.c.) twice per day for 6 days while their visuo-spatial learning was tested using the Morris Water Maze. After this, animals were sacrificed and LTP induced in hippocampal slices. Visuo-spatial learning was impaired and LTP reduced, both dose-dependently, without changes in serotonin levels or paired-pulse facilitation. We conclude that low, nontoxic doses of MDMA, applied during several days, slow learning by impairing postsynaptic plasticity.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
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- Nicotine and modafinil combination protects against the neurotoxicity induced by 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine in hippocampal neurons of male rats. Journal of chemical neuroanatomy October 2021
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Cites 12
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- Chronic tolerance to recreational MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or Ecstasy Journal of Psychopharmacology 2005
- The neuropsychology of ecstasy (MDMA) use: a quantitative review Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental September 25, 2007
- Exposure to 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on postnatal days 11–20 induces reference but not working memory deficits in the Morris water maze in rats: implications of prior learning International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience August 1, 2004
- (+/–)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Dose-Dependently Impairs Spatial Learning in the Morris Water Maze after Exposure of Rats to Different Five-Day Intervals from Birth to Postnatal Day Twenty Developmental Neuroscience 2009
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