Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
Shaista Hayat, Robert J. Williams, Marcus Rattray
There is much evidence from animal studies that the recreational drug MDMA is a selective toxin which damages serotonin nerve terminals and axons. These in vivostudies show that an interaction between MDMA and the serotonin transporter protein (SERT) is the .rst step in toxicity. To further our understanding of the biochemical processes of MDMA toxicity we wished to use an in vitromodel for...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 2006
Murilo Campos Battisti, Ana Regina Noto, Solange Nappo et al.
The use of Ecstasy in Brazil has gained visibility in recent years. Nevertheless, scientific data on this issue remain scarce. The present study focused on clarifying this phenomenon by means of qualitative and ethnographic research. Observational studies (N = 8), information obtained from key informants (N = 14) and interviews with Ecstasy users (N = 32) from the city of São Paulo were part of...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 2006
Jörg Daumann, Bianca Till, Thomas Fischermann et al.
Numerous animal studies have been able to demonstrate neurotoxic damage to central serotonergic systems after exposure to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy). It has been suggested that a high loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) and, particularly, of the tangential N1/P2 source activity is associated with a low functioning of serotonergic activity. Therefore,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 2006
Eleanor J Bull, Veronica Porkess, Michael Rigby et al.
The current study examined the long-term effect of brief exposure to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in specific brain regions immediately following administration of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist, 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI). Wistar rats (post-natal day (PND) 28, n = 24) were administered MDMA (5 mg/kg, i.p.) or...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 2006
Rosa Hoshi, Hannah Pratt, Sachin Mehta et al.
The lowering of serotonin for a period following MDMA use could account for the increases in both self-rated and objective measures of aggression previously found in ecstasy users several days after taking the drug. There is some evidence of gender differences in the acute, sub-acute and long-term effects of MDMA use, and given that gender differences have been found in aggression, it is...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 2006
Joanna K Huxster, Alessandro Pirona, Michael J Morgan
All previous studies of the sub-acute effects of ecstasy have failed to adequately control for group differences in psychopathology and past and concurrent substance use. The present study was designed to avoid these limitations. At an initial pre-drug baseline, a sample of 38 regular ecstasy users provided full substance histories and completed measures of personality and self-reported...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
G. J. H. Dumont, R. J. Verkes
148 citations
This review of the literature aims to identify the acute effects of MDMA (ecstasy) in healthy volunteers. The wide range of relevant but methodologically diverse tests was .rst grouped into clusters to allow an evaluation of tests that would otherwise have been excluded due to their low frequency of utilization. The following three types of tests were evaluated: (1) functional tests quantifying...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 1, 2006
Karl Jansen, Lynn Theron
49 citations
The term "date rape drug" has traditionally been applied by the media to powerful sedatives, such as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), which can render a person unconscious and hence unable to resist and/or recall an assault. However, some law enforcement agents and others have recently obtained convictions by arguing that the empathy-generating and sensual effects of...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
Liesbeth Reneman, Maartje M. L. de Win, Wim van den Brink et al.
85 citations
Users of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) may be at risk of developing MDMA-induced injury to the serotonin (5-HT) system. Previously, there were no methods available for directly evaluating the neurotoxic effects of MDMA in the living human brain. However, development of in vivoneuroimaging tools have begun to provide insights into the effects of ecstasy on the human brain....
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
Andy C. Parrott
139 citations
Many recreational ecstasy/MDMA users display neuropsychobiological de.cits, whereas others remain problem free. This review will investigate some of the drug and non-drug factors which in.uence the occurrence of these de.cits. Acute and chronic MDMA usage are both important. Intensive use within a session is often associated with more problems. In term of lifetime usage, novice users generally...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
C. T. J. Lamers, A. Bechara, M. Rizzo et al.
113 citations
Repeated ecstasy (MDMA) use is reported to impair cognition and cause increased feelings of depression and anxiety. Yet, many relevant studies have failed to control for use of drugs other than MDMA, especially marijuana (THC). To address these confounding effects we compared behavioural performance of 11 MDMA/THC users, 15 THC users and 15 non-drug users matched for age and intellect. We...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
Rainer Thomasius, P. Zapletalova, Kay Uwe Petersen et al.
158 citations
Although 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a known serotonergic neurotoxin in different animal species, there is to date no conclusive evidence of its neurotoxicity in humans. MDMA use was associated with impairments of psychological well-being, verbal memory and altered serotonergic functioning in a number of crosssectional studies. Due to inherent methodological...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2006
Euphrosyne Gouzoulis‐mayfrank, Jörg Daumann
179 citations
The popular dance drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine -- MDMA) is neurotoxic upon central serotonergic neurons in laboratory animals and possibly also in humans. In recent years, several studies reported alterations of serotonergic transmission and neuropsychiatric abnormalities in ecstasy users which might be related to MDMA-induced neurotoxic brain damage. To date, the most...
Addiction
February 27, 2006
Euphrosyne Gouzoulis‐mayfrank, Jörg Daumann
189 citations
ABSTRACT Background The popular dance drug ecstasy (3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine: MDMA and some analogues) causes selective and persistent neurotoxic damage of central serotonergic neurones in laboratory animals. Serotonin plays a role in numerous functional systems in the central nervous system (CNS). Consequently, various abnormalities including psychiatric, vegetative, neuroendocrine...
BMJ
February 24, 2006
Anja C. Huizink, Robert F Ferdinand, Jan Van der Ende et al.
77 citations
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether using ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is preceded by symptoms of behavioural and emotional problems in childhood and early adolescence. DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal, population based study SETTING: The Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 1580 individuals, followed up across a 14 year period, from childhood into...
British Journal of Pharmacology
February 20, 2006
Sotiria Bexis, James R. Docherty
62 citations
The effects of injection of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4‐methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and N ‐ethyl‐3,4‐methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDEA) (all 20 mg kg −1 ) on blood pressure, heart rate, core body temperature and locomotor activity in conscious rats were investigated using radiotelemetry. MDMA and MDA produced a prolonged increase in both systolic and diastolic pressures,...
Neuropsychopharmacology
February 2006
Annis O. Mechan, Jie Yuan, George Hatzidimitriou et al.
A large body of data indicates that (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') can damage brain serotonin neurons in animals. However, the relevance of these preclinical data to humans is uncertain, because doses and routes of administration used in animals have generally differed from those used by humans. Here, we examined the pharmacokinetic profile of MDMA in squirrel monkeys...
Psychopharmacology
January 20, 2006
Boris B. Quednow, K. Kühn, C. Hoppe et al.
RationaleIn animal studies, the common club drug 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) consistently caused a prolonged loss of presynaptic serotonergic neurons, and evidence suggests that MDMA consumption may also affect the human serotonergic system. Serotonin (5-HT) has been implicated in the regulation of impulsivity and such executive functions as decision-making cognition. In...
Journal of Neuroscience
January 4, 2006
Joseph M. Breier, Michael G. Bankson, Bryan K. Yamamoto
The specific mechanisms underlying (+)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced damage to 5-HT terminals are unknown. Despite the hypothesized role for dopamine (DA) and DA-derived free radicals in mediating this damage, it remains unclear why MDMA produces long-term depletions of 5-HT in brain regions that are sparsely innervated by DA neurons. We hypothesized that the precursor to DA...
Neurotoxicology and Teratology
2006
Brian J. Piper, Jerrold S. Meyer
MDMA [(+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy] is a popular recreational drug among women of reproductive age. The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term neurobehavioral consequences of early developmental MDMA exposure. On postnatal days (PD) 1-4, Sprague-Dawley rats received two 10 mg/kg injections of MDMA with an inter-dose interval of 4 h. Male...