The use of MDMA (ecstasy) in Australia is a widespread and growing problem, promoting acute toxicity and disease which can lead to premature death in users. We report four cases of fatal serotonin toxicity caused by the combination of MDMA and moclobemide, a reversible MAO-A inhibitor with potent serotonergic activity. Despite the highly reported toxicity of this drug combination, there are...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or 'ecstasy' has been associated with memory deficits during abstinence and intoxication. The human neuropharmacology of MDMA-induced memory impairment is unknown. This study investigated the role of 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(1A) receptors in MDMA-induced memory impairment. Ketanserin is a 5-HT(2A) receptor blocker and pindolol a 5-HT(1A) receptor blocker. It...
To gain insight into the neurophysiological mechanisms involved in Zen meditation, we evaluated the effects of focused attention (FA) on breathing movements in the lower abdomen (Tanden) in novices. We investigated hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an attention-related brain region, using 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy during a 20-minute session of FA on Tanden...
The abuse liability profile of three synthetic hallucinogens, N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (DIPT), 5-N,N-diethyl-5-methoxytryptamine (5-MeO-DET), and 5-methoxy-α-methyltryptamine (5-MeO-AMT), was tested in rats trained to discriminate hallucinogenic and psychostimulant compounds, including cocaine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD),...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is a popular party drug known to cause selective serotonergic damage. Here we examined the long-term recovery and aging of serotonergic fibers and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) after intermittent MDMA administration (15 mg kg(-1) i.p. every 7th day for 4 weeks, MDMA ×4) and a single-dose treatment (15 mg kg(-1) i.p., MDMA...
A growing body of evidence suggests that regular ‘ecstasy’ (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) use causes lasting changes to central serotonergic functioning in humans, including in the occipital lobe. Brown, Edwards, et al. [1] proposed that MDMA-related serotonergic changes in the occipital lobe may reduce lateral inhibition between occipital neurons involved in low level visual...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ‘Ecstasy’) shares psychoactive effects with drugs that possess stimulant (e.g. amphetamine, the effects of which are primarily dopaminergic) and hallucinogenic properties (e.g. LSD, which has serotonergic effects) [1]. The majority of MDMA’s distinctive effects as well as its toxicity have been linked to its actions on serotonergic neurotransmission [2]....
Methylone (2-methylamino-1-[3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl]propane-1-one) is a synthetic hallucinogenic amphetamine analog, like MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy- methamphetamine), considered to act on monoaminergic systems. However, the psychopharmacological profile of its cytotoxicity as a consequence of monoaminergic deficits remains unclear. We examined here the effects of methylone on the transporters...
High doses of the recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") have been well-documented to reduce the expression of serotonergic markers in several forebrain regions of rats and nonhuman primates. Neuroimaging studies further suggest that at least one of these markers, the plasma membrane serotonin transporter (SERT), may also be reduced in heavy Ecstasy users. Such...
3,4-Methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has both stimulatory and hallucinogenic properties which make its psychoactive effects unique and different from those of typical psychostimulant and hallucinogenic agents. The present study investigated the effects of MDMA on extracellular dopamine (DA(ex)) and serotonin (5-HT(ex)) levels in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC) using in vivo...
Warm ambient temperature facilitates hyperthermia and other neurotoxic responses elicited by psychogenic drugs such as MDMA and methamphetamine. However, little is known about the neural mechanism underlying such effects. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a warm ambient temperature may enhance the responsivity of 5-HT(2A) receptors in the central nervous system and thereafter...
Disruption of prepulse inhibition by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): comparison between male and female wild-type and 5-HT(1A) receptor knockout mice.
Epidemiological studies indicate that maternal influenza viral infection increases the risk for schizophrenia in the adult offspring. The serotonin and glutamate systems are suspected in the etiology of schizophrenia, as well as in the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs. The effects of hallucinogens, such as psilocybin and mescaline, require the serotonin 5-HT 2A receptor, and induce...
PsychopharmacologyFebruary 2011H M Francis, N J Kraushaar, L R Hunt et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) abuse is a substantial problem in young adults. Due to a high focus on body image in this population, two main factors that may encourage MDMA use are the appetite suppressant and locomotor stimulant effects of this drug. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a brain region associated with the regulation of motivated and locomotor behaviours, and recent...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") is a widely used recreational drug known to cause selective long-term serotonergic damage. The aim of this study was to characterize the ultrastructure of serotonergic pericarya and proximal neurites in the dorsal raphe nucleus as well as the ultrastructure of serotonergic axons in the frontal cortex of adolescent Dark Agouti rats 3 days after...
The amphetamine analogue 3,4-methylendioxymetamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) causes complex adaptations at the molecular and cellular levels altering the activity of different brain neurotransmitters. The present study aims to verify the effects of single and repeated injections of MDMA on dynorphin and nociceptin systems gene regulation in the brainstem, an area rich in neurons containing...
To review the evidence that agents which preferentially affect serotonin (5-HT) attenuate the ability of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor non-competitive antagonists (NMDA-RA), e.g., phencyclidine (PCP), dizocilpine (MK-801), and ketamine, to stimulate locomotor activity (LA), and to impair novel object recognition (NOR). NMDA-RA-induced increased LA and impairment of NOR are widely used...