Neuropsychopharmacology
May 2011
Amy L Bauernfeind, Mary S Dietrich, Jennifer U Blackford et al.
The serotonergic neurotoxin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/Ecstasy), is a highly popular recreational drug. Human recreational MDMA users have neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric impairments, and human neuroimaging data are consistent with animal reports of serotonin neurotoxicity. However, functional neuroimaging studies have not found consistent effects of MDMA on brain...
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
May 1, 2011
Jennifer L. Pilgrim, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Olaf H Drummer
36 citations
The increasing use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") and tendency of users to combine MDMA with pharmaceutical agents (especially serotonergic medication) warrants a thorough understanding of MDMA's toxicity profile and potential for drug interactions. This study examined the involvement of MDMA and concurrently administered pharmaceutical drugs in cases reported to the...
European Journal of Pharmacology
April 28, 2011
Pamela B. Yang, Kristal D. Atkins, Nachum Dafny
42 citations
The psychostimulants amphetamine and methylphenidate (MPD / Ritalin) are the drugs most often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, students of all ages take these drugs to improve academic performance but also abuse them for pleasurable enhancement. In addition, other psychostimulants such 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA / ecstasy) are used /...
British Journal of Pharmacology
April 21, 2011
Daniel José Barbosa, João Paulo Capela, Jorge M.A. Oliveira et al.
60 citations
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'Ecstasy') is a worldwide major drug of abuse known to elicit neurotoxic effects. The mechanisms underlying the neurotoxic effects of MDMA are not clear at present, but the metabolism of dopamine and 5-HT by monoamine oxidase (MAO), as well as the hepatic biotransformation of MDMA into pro-oxidant reactive metabolites is thought...
European Journal of Pharmacology
April 9, 2011
Pharmacodynamic interactions between MDMA and concomitants in MDMA tablets on extracellular dopamine and serotonin in the rat brain.
Forensic Science International
April 8, 2011
New "party pill" components in New Zealand: the synthesis and analysis of some β-ketone analogues of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) including βk-DMBDB (β-ketone-N,N-dimethyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-butanamine).
Health Risk & Society
April 8, 2011
Jeremy W. Collins
4 citations
In February 2009, the UK government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published a review of MDMA (ecstasy) which recommended a reclassification from the highest class A to the ‘intermediate category’ class B, on the basis of a review of recent scientific research. This became a matter of news attention alongside a recent journal article by Professor David Nutt, the chairman of...
Behavioural Pharmacology
April 8, 2011
Adam Stewart, Russell Riehl, Keith Wong et al.
66 citations
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') is a potent psychedelic drug inducing euphoria and hypersociability in humans, as well as hyperactivity and anxiety in rodents. Adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a widely used species in neurobehavioral research. Here, we explore the effects of a wide range (0.25-120 mg/l) of acute MDMA doses on zebrafish behavior in the novel tank...
Psychopharmacology
April 2011
Amanda M George, Tim D Windsor, Bryan Rodgers
Whether the reported poorer mental health of ecstasy users is due to a bias in endorsement of somatic symptoms has been postulated, but rarely examined. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether levels of ecstasy use were associated with differential probabilities of endorsing somatic mental health symptoms. Current ecstasy users aged 24-30 years (n = 316) were identified from a...
The FASEB Journal
April 1, 2011
Kevin S. Murnane, Leonard L. Howell
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a substituted amphetamine derivative that is widely abused as the street drug “ecstasy”. Despite its high abuse liability, the neuropharmacology of MDMA remains poorly understood. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in fully conscious rhesus monkeys to characterize the neuroactivational effects of MDMA and its...