The Journal of Comparative Neurology
March 31, 2011
Csaba Ádori, Rómeó D. Andó, Mária Szekeres et al.
21 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is a popular party drug known to cause selective serotonergic damage. Here we examined the long-term recovery and aging of serotonergic fibers and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) after intermittent MDMA administration (15 mg kg(-1) i.p. every 7th day for 4 weeks, MDMA ×4) and a single-dose treatment (15 mg kg(-1) i.p., MDMA...
Mitochondrion
March 29, 2011
Orlagh M Kelly, Yvonne M McNamara, Lars H Manzke et al.
Previous researchers have demonstrated that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) induced hyperthermia, in skeletal muscle of animals, is uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) dependent. In light of our investigations that in vivo phosphorylation of UCP1 is augmented under conditions of cold-acclimation, we set out to investigate whether (a) UCP3 was phosphorylated in vivo and (b) whether in vivo...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Jillian Helen Broadbear
1 citation
The Second International MDMA conference in Australasia was held at Monash University in Melbourne on July 18th-19th 2010.Research from over twenty universities was presented, in a program which included both oral papers and posters.The first Australasian MDMA conference was held earlier at the Brain Sciences Institute, Swinburne University, also in Melbourne.All attendees were active MDMA...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Con Stough
3 citations
The aim of this study was to investigate car driving skills and cognitive abilities after the consumption of methamphetamine and MDMA. In previous studies we have demonstrated significant decrements following sedative drugs such as cannabis, and stimulants such as dexamphetamine. We have also documented the presence of stimulant drugs in many fatal traffic accidents, especially those involving...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Gillinder Bedi
1 citation
Ecstasy users report that the drug produces feelings of increased empathy and sociability [1]. Such ‘empathogenic’ effects are thought to motivate recreational use of ecstasy [2]. In addition, the rationale for the proposed use of MDMA as an adjunct to psychotherapy centers on these effects [3]. Controlled studies confirm that MDMA administration produces prosocial feelings in humans [e.g. 4],...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Paul M Anderson
3 citations
Hyperthermia is a key clinical outcome from recreational use of MDMA and is the leading cause of MDMA related hospital admissions as well as being linked to enhanced neurotoxicity [1, 2]. Animal models of ischemia which also display hyperthermia have shown an inflammatory process mediated by microglia and the release of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1(IL-1 ) play a role in...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Abdallah Salem
1 citation
Project Background The main MDMA-induced adverse effect is disruption of normal thermoregulation leading to life threatening hyperthermia which is exacerbated by high ambient temperature and linked to chronic neurotoxicity. Although the focus of the majority of research on MDMAinduced loss of thermoregulation has been on brain serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, results obtained from our...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Jillian H. Broadbear
1 citation
are examples of interoceptive cues which enable experienced users to distinguish the effects of MDMA from those of other drugs. Serotonin neurotransmission positively modulates the release of oxytocin into plasma [2]. To test the hypothesis that oxytocin receptor activation contributes to the interoceptive cues of MDMA in male and female rats, two peptidic oxytocin receptor ligands, the agonist...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Esther Remmelink
Acute MDMA, even at low doses, increases social interaction in adult rats [1] while on the long-term its consumption produces a decrease in social interaction, an increase in anxiety and impaired object recognition memory [2, 3]. This study investigated whether MDMA has the same effects in adolescent rats. Additionally, we investigated whether the preference of adolescent rats for MDMA was...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Allison J Matthews
1 citation
Remembering to do things in the future (prospective memory) and remembering things in our past (retrospective memory) are important everyday memory skills. Several studies suggest an association between use of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and impairments in prospective (remembering to remember) and retrospective memory (recollection of past events) [1, 2]. However, some research...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Jacqui Rodgers
7 citations
The aim of this investigation was to extend our previous work and establish whether the findings reported previously of self reports of memory difficulties associated with ecstasy use can be replicated. A web-based methodology was adopted due to the significant advantages such techniques may confer when trying to reach a specialized population or address questions that people might be reluctant...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Amy K. O’Sullivan
1 citation
68 recreational Ecstasy/MDMA users were categorized into four subgroups: light versus heavy users (+20 occasions lifetime), subdivided into current and former users (usage within 6 months). Each unpaid volunteer completed a questionnaire about their personal experiences on Ecstasy/MDMA. The four questions here covered experiences the first and last times on Ecstasy. Positive effects were...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
David N. Harper
5 citations
disruption to working memory function [1, 2]. This possibility was examined using a version of the 8-arm radial maze task with rats that is designed to separate working memory function from reference memory function [3]. In Experiment 1 the effects of MDMA were compared to the classic amnetic drug scopolamine (which has been shown to produce working memory deficits in the current radial arm...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
John Brown
1 citation
A growing body of evidence suggests that regular ‘ecstasy’ (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) use causes lasting changes to central serotonergic functioning in humans, including in the occipital lobe. Brown, Edwards, et al. [1] proposed that MDMA-related serotonergic changes in the occipital lobe may reduce lateral inhibition between occipital neurons involved in low level visual...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
David N. Harper
4 citations
This study used the Drug Discrimination paradigm to assess the relative subjective experience of acutely administered 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and d-amphetamine (AMPH). In this paradigm rats are required to respond on one lever if they have been given a specific drug (AMPH for one group of rats or MDMA for another group) vs an alternate lever if they have been administered...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Vanessa Gwendoline Smithies
4 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ‘Ecstasy’) shares psychoactive effects with drugs that possess stimulant (e.g. amphetamine, the effects of which are primarily dopaminergic) and hallucinogenic properties (e.g. LSD, which has serotonergic effects) [1]. The majority of MDMA’s distinctive effects as well as its toxicity have been linked to its actions on serotonergic neurotransmission [2]....
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
March 28, 2011
Bjørnar den Hollander, M.L.J. Schouw, P.F.C. Groot et al.
27 citations
Various studies have shown that ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users display significant memory impairments, whereas their performance on other cognitive tests is generally normal. The hippocampus plays an essential role in short-term memory. There are, however, no structural human data on the effects of ecstasy on the hippocampus. The objective of this study was to investigate...
Toxicology Letters
March 22, 2011
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) interacts with therapeutic drugs on CYP3A by inhibition of pregnane X receptor (PXR) activation and catalytic enzyme inhibition.
Australian Journal of Psychology
March 16, 2011
Joseph Ciorciari, Alicia Marotte
4 citations
The use of amphetamine type stimulants, particularly MDMA, is a global concern. Little research has been conducted on the association between MDMA use and everyday memory function—prospective memory. Twenty‐five MDMA users, 37 cannabis users, and 43 illicit substance‐naïve controls were assessed on their substance use history and reported prospective memory performance as measured by the...
NeuroQuantology
March 2, 2011
Stanley Krippner, Dustin Dunbar
3 citations
Ecstasy (from the Greek, ekstasis: distraction; derangement; astonishment) is defined by dictionaries as (1) an emotional state so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought or self-control; (2) rapture associated with mystical experience. In this essay, we take the position that “addiction” is a social construct, a term that reflects a societal convention as much or more so that its...