J. Neurochem. (2010) 10.1111/j.1471‐4159.2010.06578.x Abstract 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) produces selective long‐lasting serotonergic neurotoxicity in rats. The drug also produces acute hyperthermia which modulates the severity of the neurotoxic response. In addition, MDMA produces signs of neuroinflammation reflected as microglial activation and an increase in the...
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a drug of abuse worldwide and a selective serotonin (5-HT) neurotoxin. An important factor in the risk of drug abuse and relapse is stress. Although multiple parallels exist between MDMA abuse and stress, including effects on 5-HTergic neurotransmission, few studies have investigated the consequences of combined exposure to MDMA and chronic stress....
Ecstasy (MDMA, 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine) and the stimulants methamphetamine (METH, speed) and amphetamine are popular drugs among young people, particularly in the dance scene. When given in high doses both MDMA and the stimulant amphetamines are clearly neurotoxic in laboratory animals. MDMA causes selective and persistent lesions of central serotonergic nerve terminals, whereas...
Pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the cerebral cortex are involved in learning and memory and have complex connections with other neurons through a very large array of dendrites. These dendrites can switch between long term depression and long term potentiation depending on global summation of various inputs. The plasticity of the input into pyramidal neurons makes the neuronal output variable....
Discriminative stimulus effects of the serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonist 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM) have been studied in rats and, more recently, in rhesus monkeys. This study examined DOM, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-7), and dipropyltryptamine hydrochloride (DPT) alone and in combination with three antagonists, MDL100907...
The prevalence of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use has increased globally and the pattern of consumption has changed considerably. Previously, a subculture of MDMA users was fairly restricted to the dance club scene. More recently, use has spread outside of this subculture and now many users consume MDMA frequently and in large amounts and some meet criteria for drug abuse and/or...
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Japan enacted an "Ordinance concerning the abuse prevention of the psychoactive drugs" in April 2006 that prohibited the manufacture, cultivation, sales, possession, use, etc., of these drugs. Therefore, we constructed a reproducible, simple, and small-scale determination method of the psychoactive drugs for the re-uptake and the release of monoamines...
Abstract Despite the potential for deleterious (even fatal) effects on cardiac physiology, 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) abuse abounds driven mainly by its euphoric effects. Acute exposure to MDMA has profound cardiovascular effects on blood pressure and heart rate in humans and animals. To determine the effects of MDMA on cardiac metabolites in rats, MDMA (0, 5, or 10...
Adult animals treated with high doses of MDMA (“ecstasy”) either on a single day or for several consecutive days show numerous behavioral changes as well as persistent reductions in brain serotonin (5‐HT) concentrations and 5‐HT transporter (SERT) protein expression. However, such dosing regimens do not adequately mimic the intermittent use patterns commonly seen in adolescent recreational...
The vasoconstrictor substance named serotonin was identified as 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) by Maurice Rapport in 1949. In 1951, Rapport gave Gaddum samples of 5‐HT substance allowing him to develop a bioassay to both detect and measure the amine. Gaddum and colleagues rapidly identified 5‐HT in brain and showed that lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) antagonized its action in peripheral tissues....