Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2004
Felix Hasler, Ulrike Grimberg, Marco A. Benz et al.
458 citations
RationaleSerotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptors play an important role in perception, affect regulation and attention. Pharmacological challenge with the 5-HT(2A) agonist psilocybin (PY) is useful in studying the neurobiological basis of cognition and consciousness.ObjectiveInvestigation of dose-dependent effects of PY on psycho(patho)logical and physiological parameters.MethodsEight...
Neuropsychobiology
2004
A. C. Parrott
152 citations
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or ‘ecstasy’ is a ring-substituted amphetamine derivative, which is widely used as a recreational drug, most particularly at dances and raves. Around 80–95% of dancers/ravers report using ecstasy/MDMA, compared to 5–15% of young people in general. This paper will consider the possible contribution of stimulatory environmental conditions to the...
Science
November 21, 2003
Per Svenningsson, Eleni T. Tzavara, Robert Carruthers et al.
312 citations
Three distinct classes of drugs: dopaminergic agonists (such as D-amphetamine), serotonergic agonists (such as LSD), and glutamatergic antagonists (such as PCP) all induce psychotomimetic states in experimental animals that closely resemble schizophrenia symptoms in humans. Here we implicate a common signaling pathway in mediating these effects. In this pathway, dopamine- and an adenosine...
Journal of Neuroscience
October 8, 2003
Mahmoud M. Iravani, Michael S. Jackson, Mikko Kuoppamäki et al.
105 citations
Ecstasy [3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] was shown to prolong the action of l -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( l -DOPA) while suppressing dyskinesia in a single patient with Parkinson's disease (PD). The clinical basis of this effect of MDMA is unknown but may relate to its actions on either dopaminergic or serotoninergic systems in brain. In normal, drug-naive common marmosets, MDMA...
Neuroreport
October 1, 2003
Jörg Daumann, Ralph Schnitker, Jürgen Weidemann et al.
46 citations
Poor cognitive performance in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) users has been related to the well-recognized neurotoxic effects of the drug upon central serotonergic and possibly also dopaminergic systems. However, concomitant use of other drugs has been a critical confound in most investigations. In this study we used an n-back task and fMRI to investigate working memory...
Brain research. Molecular brain research
March 1, 2003
Charles D. Nichols, Efrain E. Garcia, Elaine Sanders‐bush
1 citation
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a psychoactive drug that transiently alters human perception, behavior, and mood at extremely low doses. Certain aspects of the behavior elicited by acute doses of LSD closely resemble symptoms of mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Characterizing gene expression profiles after LSD will be important for understanding how it alters behavior, and will lead...
Addiction
February 20, 2003
Erkki Vuori, John A. Henry, Ilkka Ojanperä et al.
113 citations
ABSTRACT Four deaths following the ingestion of moclobemide and MDMA (‘ecstasy’) are described. The probable cause of death in each case was serotonin syndrome as a result of an interaction between the two drugs. As none of the victims had been prescribed moclobemide it seems that each had taken the drug to enhance the effects of MDMA, with fatal consequences. Warnings are needed against...
The FASEB Journal
December 1, 2002
Bruce Ladenheim, Michael Mccoy, Jean Lud Cadet et al.
34 citations
ABSTRACT 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a popular drug of abuse. MDMA is pharmacologically classified as an entactogen because of its affinities to classical hallucinogens and stimulants. Oral ingestion of a single dose of the drug is associated with euphoria, elevated self‐confidence, and heightened sensory awareness in humans. Evidence for neurotoxicity in the human...
Psychopharmacology
December 1, 2002
Jordi Riba, Antoni Rodrı́guez-fornells, Manel J. Barbanoj
71 citations
RationaleAyahuasca, a South American psychotropic plant tea, combines the psychedelic agent and 5-HT(2A/2C) agonist N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with beta-carboline alkaloids showing monoamine oxidase-inhibiting properties. Current human research with psychedelics and entactogens has explored the possibility that drugs displaying agonist activity at the 5-HT(2A/2C) sites temporally disrupt...
Science
September 27, 2002
George A. Ricaurte, Jie Yuan, George Hatzidimitriou et al.
179 citations
Retracted
The prevailing view is that the popular recreational drug (±)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or “ecstasy”) is a selective serotonin neurotoxin in animals and possibly in humans. Nonhuman primates exposed to several sequential doses of MDMA, a regimen modeled after one used by humans, developed severe brain dopaminergic neurotoxicity, in addition to less pronounced serotonergic...