Perturbing a system and observing the consequences is a classic scientific strategy for understanding a phenomenon. Psychedelic drugs perturb consciousness in a marked and novel way and thus are powerful tools for studying its mechanisms. In the present analysis, we measured changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between a standard template of different independent components...
Metabolism of 3,4-(±)-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is necessary to elicit its neurotoxic effects. Perturbations in phase I and phase II hepatic enzymes can alter the neurotoxic profile of systemically administered MDMA. In particular, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) plays a critical role in determining the fraction of MDMA that is converted to potentially neurotoxic metabolites....
MDMA (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ‘ecstasy’) is reportedly used recreationally because it increases feelings of sociability and interpersonal closeness. Prior work suggests that the pro-social effects of MDMA may be mediated by release of oxytocin. A direct examination of plasma levels of oxytocin after acute doses of oxytocin and MDMA, in the same individuals, would provide further...
Life SciencesApril 17, 2014Senthilkumar S Karuppagounder, Dwipayan Bhattacharya, Manuj Ahuja et al.
There is a rapid increase in the use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its structural congeners/analogs globally. MDMA and MDMA-analogs have been synthesized illegally in furtive dwellings and are abused due to its addictive potential. Furthermore, MDMA and MDMA-analogs have shown to have induced several adverse effects. Hence, understanding the mechanisms mediating this neurotoxic...
±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) produces “prosocial” effects, such as feelings of empathy and closeness, thought to be important to its abuse and its value in psychotherapy. However, it is not fully understood how MDMA alters basic emotional processes to produce these effects, or whether it produces corresponding changes in actual social behavior. Here, we examined how MDMA...
Despite the publication of a substantial body of preclinical and clinical information on recent recreational drugs such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') and cathinone compounds such as mephedrone there remains a disturbing lack of consensus as to how dangerous these compounds are to the health of the individual and to society in general. This perspective proposes that use...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') is used recreationally to improve mood and sociability, and has generated clinical interest as a possible adjunct to psychotherapy. One way that MDMA may produce positive 'prosocial' effects is by changing responses to emotional stimuli, especially stimuli with social content. Here, we examined for the first time how MDMA affects subjective...
The substituted β‐keto amphetamine mephedrone (4‐methylmethcathinone) was banned in the UK in A pril 2010 but continues to be used recreationally in the UK and elsewhere. Users have compared its psychoactive effects to those of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA , ‘ecstasy’). This review critically examines the preclinical data on mephedrone that have appeared over the last 2–3 years and,...
Central nervous system (CNS) damage associated with psychostimulant dependence may be an ongoing, degenerative process with adverse effects on neuropsychiatric function. However, the molecular mechanisms regarding how altered energy regulation affects immune response in the context of substance use disorders are not fully understood. This review summarizes the current evidence regarding the...
Several laboratories have conducted placebo-controlled drug challenge studies with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), providing a unique source of data to examine the reliability of the acute effects of the drug across subject samples and settings. We examined the subjective and physiological responses to the drug across three different laboratories and investigated the influence of...
3,4-(±)-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and 3,4-(±)-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), a primary metabolite of MDMA, are phenylethylamine derivatives that cause serotonergic neurotoxicity. Although several phenylethylamine derivatives activate microglia, little is known about the effects of MDMA on glial cells, and evidence of MDMA-induced microglial activation remains ambiguous. We...
Human Psychopharmacology recently published my review into the increase in empirical knowledge about the human psychobiology of MDMA over the past 25 years (Parrott, 2013a). Deficits have been demonstrated in retrospective memory, prospective memory, higher cognition, complex visual processing, sleep architecture, sleep apnoea, pain, neurohormonal activity, and psychiatric status. Neuroimaging...
Previous research has revealed an acute 8-fold increase in salivary cortisol following self-administrated Ecstasy/MDMA in dance clubbers. It is currently not known to what extent repeated usage impacts upon activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis over a more prolonged period of time. This study investigated the integrated cortisol levels in 3-month hair samples from recent...
Parrott recently published a review of literature on MDMA/ecstasy. This commentary is a response to the content and tenor of his review, which mischaracterizes the literature through misstatement and omission of contrary findings, and fails to address the central controversies in the literature. The review makes several erroneous statements concerning MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, such as...
Serotonergic signaling is considered critical for an appropriate adaptation to stress. We have previously observed that in healthy volunteers, prefrontal serotonin transporter (SERT) binding is positively associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis output in terms of the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Here, we tested (1) if such a correlation persists in a human model of...
Medicine TodayFebruary 10, 2014Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman Patwary, Kazi Abdullah Al Mamun4 citations
Drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions in many countries including Bangladesh and threatens to overwhelm economic, social, and health care systems. In addition to their effects on the central nervous system, many of these agents induce profound changes in the heart and circulation that are responsible for a significant proportion of drug-related morbidity. Drugs that can affect the...
3-4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) increases self-reported positive social feelings and decreases the ability to detect social threat in faces, but its effects on experiences of social acceptance and rejection have not been determined. We examined how an acute dose of MDMA affects subjective and autonomic responses to simulated social acceptance and rejection. We predicted that MDMA would...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "ecstasy") is a recreational hallucinogenic drug of abuse known to elicit neurotoxic properties. Hepatic formation of neurotoxic metabolites is thought to play a major role in MDMA-related neurotoxicity, though the mechanisms involved are still unclear. Here, we studied the neurotoxicity mechanisms and stability of MDMA and 6 of its major human...
PsychopharmacologyFebruary 2014Lynn Taurah, Chris Chandler, Geoff Sanders
Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is a worldwide recreational drug of abuse. Unfortunately, the results from human research investigating its psychological effects have been inconsistent. The present study aimed to be the largest to date in sample size and 5HT-related behaviors; the first to compare present ecstasy users with past users after an abstinence of 4 or more years,...
Abstract 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is an agent of abuse that has been used by over 16 million Americans. Increased energy, elevated mood, bonding with others, and psychedelic effects are desired effects while liver damage, extended depressed mood, sexual assault, rhabdomyolysis, serotonin syndrome, multiorgan failure, cardiovascular events, arrhythmias, and death are possible...