Brain ResearchMay 22, 2015Dmitry V Zaretsky, Maria V Zaretskaia, Pamela J Durant et al.
The contribution of exercise to hyperthermia mediated by MDMA is not known. We recently showed that inhibiting the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) attenuated spontaneous locomotion and hyperthermia and prevented deaths in rats given MDMA in a warm environment. The goal of this study was to confirm that restoring locomotion through a treadmill would reverse these effects thereby confirming that...
3,4-methylenedioxy- N-methylamphetamine (MDMA) produces diverse pro-social effects. Cognitive training methods rooted in Eastern contemplative practices also produce these effects through the development of a compassionate mindset. Given this similarity, we propose that one potential mechanism of action of MDMA in psychotherapy is through enhancing effects on intrapersonal attitudes (i.e....
Some 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) users become dependent as a result of chronic consumption. A greater understanding of the neurobiological basis of the rewarding effects of MDMA could contribute to developing effective pharmacotherapies for MDMA-related problems. The present study evaluated the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors (NMDARs) in the acquisition and...
Ecstasy use is associated with cognitive impairment, believed to result from damage to 5-HT axons. Neuroimaging techniques to investigate executive dysfunction in ecstasy users provide a more sensitive measure of cognitive impairment than behavioural indicators. The present study assessed executive access to semantic memory in ecstasy polydrug users and non-users. Twenty ecstasy polydrug users...
Rationale: ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is widely believed to increase sociability. The drug alters speech production and fluency, and may influence speech content. Here, we investigated the effect of MDMA on speech content, which may reveal how this drug affects social interactions. Method: Thirty-five healthy volunteers with prior MDMA experience completed this two-session,...
Cult scenes illustrated in miniature on administrative stone seals and metal signet rings from Late Bronze Age Minoan Crete are commonly interpreted as “Epiphany Scenes” and have been called “shamanic”. “Universal shamanism” is a catch-all anthropological term coined to describe certain inferred ritual behaviors across widely dispersed cultures and through time. This study re-examines evidence...
Recently, there has been an increase in abuse of new synthetic psychostimulant drugs derived from the cathinone structure. These products are typically referred to as “bath salts”, and one of the most common psychoactive constituents of these preparations is 3,4‐methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). In these studies, we used the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm to explore the apparent...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "ecstasy") is a popular recreational drug. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of dopamine in the psychotropic effects of MDMA using bupropion to inhibit the dopamine and norepinephrine transporters through which MDMA releases dopamine and norepinephrine by investigating. The pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between...
Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has persisted in Europe despite the banning of the substances LSD and MDMA in the 1960s and 1980s, respectively. This article describes the work of a Zurich-based psychotherapist providing individual and group psycholytic psychotherapy, whose practice persisted for several years before she was arrested in 2009. The article provides commentary on...
Background and Purpose Benzofurans are newly used psychoactive substances, but their pharmacology is unknown. The aim of the present study was to pharmacologically characterize benzofurans in vitro . Experimental Approach We assessed the effects of the benzofurans 5‐ APB , 5‐ APDB , 6‐ APB , 6‐ APDB , 4‐ APB , 7‐ APB , 5‐ EAPB and 5‐ MAPDB and benzodifuran 2 C ‐ B ‐ FLY on the human...
Recent designer drugs, also known as "legal highs," include substituted cathinones (e.g., mephedrone, methylone, and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, often referred to as "bath salts"); synthetic cannabinoids (SCs; e.g., Spice); and synthetic hallucinogens (25I-NBOMe, or N-bomb). Compound availability has evolved rapidly to evade legal regulation and detection by routine drug testing. Young adults...
Background: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces “prosocial” effects that contribute to its recreational use. Few studies have examined the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms by which MDMA produces these effects. Here we examined the effect of MDMA on a specific prosocial effect, i.e. generosity, using a task in which participants make decisions about whether they or another...
Exposure to 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can lead to spatial memory impairments and hippocampal cell death. Numerous evidence indicates that the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) exerts protective effects in the brain. The present study evaluates the effects of NAC on MDMA-induced neurotoxicity. We intraperitoneally injected 28 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) with...
There has been growing clinical, public, and media awareness and concern about the availability and potential harmfulness of so-called ‘legal highs’, which are more appropriately called new or novel psychoactive substances (NPS). A cat-and-mouse process has emerged wherein unknown chemists and laboratories are producing new, and as yet nonproscribed, compounds for human consumption; and as soon...
Male rats will intravenously self-administer (IVSA) the substituted cathinone stimulants (“bath salts”) mephedrone (4-methylmethcathione) and methylone (3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone) robustly, whereas the IVSA of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is inconsistent in many rat models. There are no data available on the self-administration of these drugs in female rats, thus a study was...
The recreational drugs, alcohol and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") have both been shown to cause immune activation in vivo, and they are linked to cognitive impairment and anxiety-like behaviors in rodents. The neuronal effects of these drugs in the hippocampal area, an area that has been a focus of studies aiming to explain the mechanisms underlying anxiety...
Prior to 1985, ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was readily used as a psychotherapeutic adjunct. As MDMA became popular in treating various psychiatric illnesses by mental health professionals, the public started to abuse the MDMA-containing recreational drug "ecstasy." This alarmed the DEA, which led to emergency scheduling of MDMA as a Schedule I drug. Due to its scheduling in 1985,...
Cognitive deficits are well documented in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) users, with such deficits being taken as evidence of dysregulation of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system. More recently neuroimaging has been used to corroborate these deficits. The present study aimed to assess multitasking performance in ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users and...
Eating, drinking, sexual activity, and parenting invoke pleasure, an emotion that promotes repetition of these behaviors, are essential for survival. Euphoria, a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness, is an amplification of pleasure, aspired to one's essential biological needs that are satisfied. People use party drugs as a shortcut to euphoria. Ecstasy...
Those who are not addicted to ecstasy, but who use it persistently over time, could be viewed as having a "passionate attachment" to a highly valued activity. To evaluate the associations of obsessive and harmonious passion with psychological and behavioral aspects of ecstasy consumption, we recruited a community sample of ecstasy users to complete a modified version of the Passion Scale...