Neuroscience Letters
January 29, 2010
Alejandra Arias-Cavieres, Carlos Rozas, Miguel Reyes-Parada et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), an important recreational psychostimulant drug, was examined for its ability to alter visuo-spatial learning and synaptic plasticity. Young rats received MDMA (0.2 and 2mg/kg s.c.) twice per day for 6 days while their visuo-spatial learning was tested using the Morris Water Maze. After this, animals were sacrificed and LTP induced in hippocampal slices....
Behavioural Brain Research
January 20, 2010
Csaba Ádori, Dóra Zelena, Júlia Tímár et al.
The recreational party drug "ecstasy" (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine MDMA) is particularly popular among young adults who are in the childbearing age and thus there is a substantial risk of prenatal MDMA exposure. We applied an intermittent treatment protocol with an early first injection on pregnant Wistar rats (15 mg/kg MDMA s.c. on the E4, E11 and E18 days of gestation) to examine the...
Pharmacology
2010
Matthew Goddard, Paul F Smith, John C Ashton
Previous studies have suggested panic induced by cannabinoids may be potentiated by concurrently using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. We therefore tested for panic and anxiety-related behaviour in rats coadministered with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine hydrochloride and the CB1 agonist delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Although each drug alone elicited behaviours...
Neuropsychobiology
2010
A J Matthews, R Bruno
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine affects the central serotonergic system, and there is some evidence for an association between ecstasy use (drugs sold as methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and depression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence of self-reported depression and associated help-seeking among a sample of regular ecstasy users. A further aim was to examine the...
The Journal of Toxicological Sciences
2010
Asuka Kaizaki, Sachiko Tanaka, Kenji Tsujikawa et al.
14 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is widely abused as a psychoactive recreational drug. It is well known that MDMA induces neurotoxic damage of serotonergic nerve endings. Although drug abuse is increasing among youths, it is unclear whether recreational drugs affect the development of nerve growth. Thus, the present study examined the effect of recreational drugs, such as MDMA,...
Open Collections
2010
Dennis J. Mckenna
3 citations
Ethnobotanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological investigations of two Amazonian hallucinogens are presented. The extant literature on the botany, chemistry, and ethnopharmacology of the Malpighiaceous and Myristicaceous hallucinogens is reviewed. The hallucinogenic beverage ayahuasca is prepared from the woody liana Banisteriopsis caapi (Malpighiaceae) and various admixture plants which...
PLoS One
2010
Olivier Jacques Manzoni, Thomas S. Ray
295 citations
We currently understand the mental effects of psychedelics to be caused by agonism or partial agonism of 5-HT2A (and possibly 5-HT2C) receptors, and we understand that psychedelic drugs, especially phenylalkylamines, are fairly selective for these two receptors. This manuscript is a reference work on the receptor affinity pharmacology of psychedelic drugs. New data is presented on the affinity...
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
December 15, 2009
Julien Fonsart, Marie-Claude Menet, Marcel Debray et al.
The use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) has increased in recent years; it can lead to life-threatening hyperthermia and serotonin syndrome. Human and rodent males appear to be more sensitive to acute toxicity than are females. MDMA is metabolized to five main metabolites by the enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2D and COMT. Little is presently known about sex-dependent differences in the...
Behavioural Brain Research
December 14, 2009
Laura A León, Jesus Landeira-Fernandez, Fernando P. Cárdenas
In despite the similarity of mechanisms of action between both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and MDMA (main compound of "Ecstasy") there are relatively few reports on the effects of the later on animal models of depression. There are many animal models designed to create or to assess depression. Mild chronic stress (MCS) is a procedure designed to create depression. MCS...
Revista de Antropologia da UFSCar
December 1, 2009
Rafael G. Dos Santos
A ayahuasca é utilizada como sacramento de religiões como o Santo Daime, a Barquinha, a União do Vegetal e as suas dissidências. Nesses contextos, é geralmente preparada utilizando talos de Banisteriopsis caapi e folhas de Psychotria viridis, sendo seus principais alcalóides as beta-carbolinas harmina, tetrahidroharmina (THH) e harmalina e a triptamina dimetiltriptamina (DMT) (Callaway, 2005;...