Background. Ecstasy, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), is a synthetic compound increasingly popular as a recreational drug. Tablets known as ecstasy contain MDMA, but may also contain caffeine, ephedrine, paramethoxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), amphetamine, methamphetamine, and ketamine. After absorption MDMA is metabolized to MDA, 4-hydroxy-3- metoxymetamphetamine...
Use of illicit stimulants such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy is a significant health problem. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that 14-57 million people use stimulants each year. Chronic use of illicit stimulants can cause neurotoxicity in animals and humans but the long-term functional consequences are not well understood. Stimulant users self-report problems...
There is abundant evidence showing that repeated use of MDMA (3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ecstasy) has been associated with depression, anxiety and deficits in learning and memory, suggesting detrimental effects on hippocampus. Adenosine is an endogenous purine nucleoside that has a neuromodulatory role in the central nervous system. In the present study, we investigated the role of A2a...
The amphetamine derivative 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is a widely abused drug, particularly in adolescent and young adult populations. Although it was shown that MDMA-associated cues reinstate extinguished MDMA seeking in an animal relapse model, there is little information regarding the neural mechanisms underlying this behavior. Because the medial prefrontal cortex...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; Ecstasy) is a popular drug of abuse with well-documented acute effects on serotonergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic transmitter systems, as well as evidence of long-term disruption of serotoninergic systems in the rat brain. Recently, it was demonstrated that MDMA evokes a delayed and sustained increase in glutamate release in the hippocampus. The...
Psychedelic drugs have long been known to be capable of inducing mystical or transcendental experiences. However, given the common "recreational" nature of much present-day psychedelic use, with typical doses tending to be lower than those commonly taken in the 1960s, the extent to which illicit use of psychedelics today is associated with mystical experiences is not known. Furthermore the mild...
Psychiatrists and psychotherapists in the US (1970s to 1985) and Switzerland (1988–1993) used MDMA legally as a prescription drug, to enhance the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Early reports suggest that it is useful in treating trauma-related disorders. Recently, the first completed pilot study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD yielded encouraging results. Designed to test the safety...
The synthetic psychostimulant MDMA (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ecstasy) acts as an indirect serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine agonist and as a mechanism-based inhibitor of the cytochrome P-450 2D6 (CYP2D6). It has been suggested that women are more sensitive to MDMA effects than men but no clinical experimental studies have satisfactorily evaluated the factors contributing to...
Abstract Evidence is accumulating to suggest that 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ) has neurotoxic and neuroinflammatory properties. MDMA is composed of two enantiomers with different biological activities. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo effects of S(+)‐ MDMA , R(−)‐ MDMA , and S(+)‐ MDMA in combination with R(−)‐ MDMA on microglial and astroglial activation compared with...
Recent studies have demonstrated a similar acute effect of 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in blood platelets and brain tissue via action on the serotonin transporter. To investigate the validity of blood serotonin as a peripheral marker for central serotonin in this regard, we administered MDMA (20 mg/kg i.p.) to rats and observed a parallel decrease in serotonin levels in the...
Background and Purpose Recreational users report that mephedrone has similar psychoactive effects to 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ). MDMA induces well‐characterized changes in body temperature due to complex monoaminergic effects on central thermoregulation, peripheral blood flow and thermogenesis, but there are little preclinical data on the acute effects of mephedrone or other...
Clinical outcome following 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) intake ranges from mild entactogenic effects to a life-threatening intoxication. Despite ongoing research, the clinically most relevant mechanisms causing acute MDMA-induced adverse effects remain largely unclear. This complicates the triage and treatment of MDMA users needing medical care. The user's genetic profile and...
BACKGROUND: Ecstasy use is commonly linked with memory deficits in abstinent ecstasy users. Similar impairments are being found during ecstasy intoxication after single doses of ± 3,4 metylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The concordance of memory impairments during intoxication and abstinence suggests a similar neuropharmacological mechanism underlying acute and chronic memory impairments. The...
BACKGROUND: International media have been reporting about fatalities allegedly related to mephedrone, a popular recreational stimulant, but now a proportion of them have been confirmed. We aimed here at analyzing information relating to the circumstances of mephedrone-related deaths in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of information was mainly extracted from the UK National...
OBJECTIVE: A widely used illicit recreational drug among young adults, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy, is an indirect monoaminergic agonist/reuptake inhibitor affecting the serotonin system. Preclinical studies found prenatal exposure related to long-term learning and memory impairments. There are no studies of sequelae of prenatal MDMA exposure in humans, despite potential...
Abstract Hallucinogens constitute one of the oldest classes of drugs used by humanity, often in the context of spiritual practices. Classic hallucinogens such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, N,N ‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline and 2,5‐dimethoxy‐4‐methylamphetamine (DOM) produce complex psychological and physical effects, including perceptual changes, cognitive shifts in...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a drug of abuse that induces learning and memory deficit. However, there are no experimental data that correlate the behavioral evidence with models of synaptic plasticity such as long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD). Using field potential recordings in rat hippocampal slices of young rats, we found that acute...
(±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a widely used drug of abuse, rapidly reduces serotonin levels in the brain when ingested or administered in sufficient quantities, resulting in deficits in complex route-based learning, spatial learning, and reference memory. Neurotrophins are important for survival and preservation of neurons in the adult brain, including serotonergic neurons. In...
Abstract Aims It is still unclear if cognitive abnormalities in human 3,4‐methylenedioxymeth‐amphetamine ( MDMA ) users existed before the beginning of use or if other confounders could explain the deficits. The present study was conducted in order to assess the relationship between beginning MDMA use and subsequent cognitive performance and to overcome previous methodological shortcomings....
It has been suggested that the response to novelty and impulsivity predict the latency to acquisition and maintenance of drug self-administration, respectively. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between these two traits and (1) the latency to acquisition and (2) maintenance (drug-seeking) of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) self -administration. Impulsivity, measured...