Behavioural Brain Research
May 1, 2017
Akihiro Mouri, Yukihiro Noda, Minae Niwa et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is known to induce dependence and psychosis in humans. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in the synaptic plasticity and neurotrophy in midbrain dopaminergic neurons. This study aimed to investigate the role of BDNF in MDMA-induced dependence and psychosis. A single dose of MDMA (10mg/kg) induced BDNF mRNA expression in the prefrontal...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
May 2017
Catharine Montgomery, John E. Fisk, Carl A Roberts
Cognitive deficits are now well documented in ecstasy (MDMA) users with type and relative demand of task emerging as important factors. The updating component of executive processes appears to be particularly affected. The study reported here used functional near infrared spectroscopy imaging to investigate changes in cortical haemodynamics during memory updating. Twenty ecstasy users and 20...
Neurochemistry International
May 2017
Linda D Mercer, Gavin C Higgins, Chew L Lau et al.
Toxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) towards biogenic amine neurons is well documented and in primate brain predominantly affects serotonin (5-HT) neurons. MDMA induces damage of 5-HT axons and nerve fibres and intracytoplasmic inclusions. Whilst its pathobiology involves mitochondrially-mediated oxidative stress, we hypothesised MDMA possessed the capacity to activate...
April 24, 2017
Barry M. Andrews
This paper attempts to answer three questions: (1) Was Emerson a mystic? (2) If so, what is the nature of his mysticism? (3) How has his understanding of mysticism influenced by Unitarian theology and spiritual practice? In doing so, it draws upon historical and contemporary studies of mysticism and mystical experience, including those of William James, Leigh Eric Schmidt, and Bernard McGinn...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
April 13, 2017
Khary K. Rigg
33 citations
Despite the growing popularity of MDMA (ecstasy/molly) among African Americans, their motives for using the drug are still largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the most salient motivations for using MDMA among this understudied population. In-depth interviews (n = 15) were conducted with a sample of African American young adults in Southwest Florida between...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
April 3, 2017
Kim P. C. Kuypers, Patrick C. Dolder, Johannes G. Ramaekers et al.
88 citations
Previous placebo-controlled experimental studies have shown that a single dose of MDMA can increase emotional empathy in the multifaceted empathy test (MET) without affecting cognitive empathy. Although sufficiently powered to detect main effects of MDMA, these studies were generally underpowered to also validly assess contributions of additional parameters, such as sex, drug use history, trait...
Brain Research Bulletin
April 2017
Ghorbangol Ashabi, Mitra-Sadat Sadat-Shirazi, Solmaz Khalifeh et al.
Consumption of cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB-1) agonist such as cannabis is widely taken in 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy users; it has been hypothesized that co-consumption of CB-1 agonist might protect neurons against MDMA toxicity. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors regulate neuronal plasticity and firing rate in the brain through Tyrosine-kinase B (Trk-B) activation....
Pharmacological Reports
April 2017
Barbara Budzynska, Agnieszka Michalak, Małgorzata Frankowska et al.
Abuse of more than one psychoactive drug is becoming a global problem. Our experiments were designed to examine the effects of a concomitant administration of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) and mephedrone on depression- and anxiety-like behaviors and cognitive processes in Swiss mice. In order to investigate the drug interactions the forced swimming test (FST) - an animal model of...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 1, 2017
Ben Sessa
Treating people with alcohol use disorder has been an important target area for psychedelic research – both in the first studies of the 1950s and during the Psychedelic Renaissance of the last 10 years. To date, most studies have looked at the classical psychedelic drugs as adjuncts to psychotherapy; with attention paid to the psychospiritual aspect of the experience as a central therapeutic...
Neuropharmacology
March 16, 2017
Mercedes Pérez-Hernández, María Encarnación Fernández-Valle, Ana Rubio-Araiz et al.
The recreational drug of abuse, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) disrupts blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity in rats through an early P2X7 receptor-mediated event which induces MMP-9 activity. Increased BBB permeability often causes plasma proteins and water to access cerebral tissue leading to vasogenic edema formation. The current study was performed to examine the effect of...