British Journal of Pharmacology
September 1, 2001
Violeta Sánchez Sánchez, Jorge Camarero, B. Moreno Esteban et al.
103 citations
It has been reported that co‐administration of fluoxetine with 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) prevents MDMA‐induced degeneration of 5‐HT nerve endings in rat brain. The mechanisms involved have now been investigated. MDMA (15 mg kg −1 , i.p.) administration produced a neurotoxic loss of 5‐HT and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) in cortex, hippocampus and striatum and a...
Human Brain Mapping
August 27, 2001
Edi Frei, Alex Gamma, Roberto D Pascual-Marqui et al.
175 citations
Abstract 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; 'Ecstasy') is a psychostimulant drug producing heightened mood and facilitated social communication. In animal studies, MDMA effects are primarily mediated by serotonin (5‐HT), but also by dopamine (DA) and possibly noradrenaline (NA). In humans, however, the neurochemical and neurophysiological basis of acute MDMA effects remains unknown. The...
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
May 1, 2001
Michael H. Baumann, Richard B Rothman, John Pablo et al.
69 citations
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring compound with purported antiaddictive properties. When administered to primates, ibogaine is rapidly o-demethylated to form the metabolite 12-hydroxyibogamine (noribogaine). Peak blood levels of noribogaine exceed those of ibogaine, and noribogaine persists in the bloodstream for at least 1 day. Very few studies have systematically evaluated the neurobiological...
Journal of Neuroscience
May 1, 2001
Harry W. Broening, Laronda L. Morford, Sandra L. Inman-Wood et al.
141 citations
Use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) has increased dramatically in recent years, yet little is known about its effects on the developing brain. Neonatal rats were administered MDMA on days 1–10 or 11–20 (analogous to early and late human third trimester brain development). MDMA exposure had no effect on survival but did affect body weight gain during treatment. After...
Psychopharmacology
March 5, 2001
Matthias E. Liechti, Alex Gamma, Franz X. Vollenweider
357 citations
Rationale3.4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) mainly releases serotonin (5-HT) and is contained in the recreational drug Ecstasy. 5-HT is known to play an important role in mood and anxiety disorders, for which there is a female preponderance. To date, there are no systematic data on gender differences in the subjective effects of MDMA.ObjectivesThe present work analyzed the pooled data...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
February 1, 2001
Alex Gamma, Alfred Buck, Thomas Berthold et al.
84 citations
The long-term use of the serotonin-releaser and uptake-inhibitor 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") has been associated with memory impairments and increased liability to depressive mood and anxiety attacks. It is unclear, however, whether these psychologic deviations are reflected in alterations of the underlying neurophysiologic substrate. The authors compared mood and...
Synapse
2001
Francesco Fornai, Filippo Sean Giorgi, Marco Gesi et al.
54 citations
Previous studies reported that drugs acting as monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitors prevented biochemical effects induced by the neurotoxins N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy"). In this study, we administered DSP-4 (50 mg/kg) or MDMA (50 mg/kg x 2, 2 h apart) to MAO-B deficient mice. Monoamine content in various brain...
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
October 19, 2000
Joseph B. Blair, Deborah Kurrasch‐orbaugh, Danuta Marona‐lewicka et al.
132 citations
A series of fluorinated analogues of the hallucinogenic tryptamines N,N-diethyltryptamine (DET), 4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (4-OH-DMT, psilocin), and 5-methoxy-DMT was synthesized to investigate possible explanations for the inactivity of 6-fluoro-DET as a hallucinogen and to determine the effects of fluorination on the molecular recognition and activation of these compounds at serotonin...
European Journal of Neuroscience
April 1, 2000
H. S. Fischer, Gerald Zernig, Dieter S. Schatz et al.
54 citations
Abstract The pharmacological basis of acute (±)‐MDMA (3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine) intoxication still awaits full characterization. According to present knowledge, MDMA enhances the release of serotonin and dopamine in striatal slices and interacts with different types of receptors such as 5‐HT 2 (5‐hydroxytryptamine or serotonin), M 1 and M 2 muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh), and histamine...
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
2000
A. K. Goodwin, L. E. Baker
44 citations
(+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces subjective effects in humans that are similar to, but distinguishable from, those of psychostimulants. Drug discrimination studies in nonhumans have yielded inconsistent results regarding the similarities between MDMA and the psychomotor stimulant d-amphetamine. This study successfully used a 3-choice operant procedure to establish MDMA...