Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
October 1, 2004
Yossef Itzhak, Karen L. Anderson, Syed F. Ali
31 citations
A bstract : It has been shown that mice deficient in neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) gene are resistant to cocaine‐induced psychomotor sensitization and methamphetamine (METH)‐induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that nNOS has a major role in dopamine (DA)‐ but not serotonin (5‐hydroxytryptamine; 5‐HT)‐mediated effects of...
Neuroreport
August 1, 2004
Olivia Carter, John D. Pettigrew, David C. Burr et al.
83 citations
The hallucinogenic serotonin(1A&2A) agonist psilocybin is known for its ability to induce illusions of motion in otherwise stationary objects or textured surfaces. This study investigated the effect of psilocybin on local and global motion processing in nine human volunteers. Using a forced choice direction of motion discrimination task we show that psilocybin selectively impairs coherence...
Synapse
July 14, 2004
Pedro Rosa‐neto, Albert Gjedde, Aage Kristian Olsen Alstrup et al.
39 citations
Abstract Positron emission tomography (PET) studies with radiolabeled dopamine D 2 ‐like receptor ligands reveal d ‐amphetamine‐evoked increases in the competition from endogenous dopamine. However, the corresponding effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”), which releases catecholamines and also serotonin, are unknown. Using PET, we measured the binding potentials ( pB s) of...
CNS Drug Reviews
June 1, 2004
Roland W. Freudenmann, Manfred Spitzer
41 citations
ABSTRACT This paper reviews the pharmacology and toxicology of 3,4‐methylenedioxy‐N‐ethyl‐amphetamine (MDEA, “eve”). MDEA is a ring‐substituted amphetamine (RSA) like MDMA, its well known N‐methyl analog. Both have become very popular substances of abuse in the techno‐ and house‐music scene. They can evoke psychomotor stimulation, mild alterations of perception, sensations of closeness and a...
Psychopharmacology
May 2004
Karsten Heekeren, Jörg Daumann, Mark A. Geyer et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is neurotoxic upon central serotonin systems in experimental animals and probably also in humans. Serotonin is involved in the habituation, sensitization and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. To study the plasticity of startle reflex in currently abstinent MDMA users. Electromyographic responses to acoustic startle stimuli (pulse...
Psychopharmacology
May 2004
Fabrizio Schifano
The issue of ecstasy-related fatalities has extensively attracted the attention of both the media and the general public, but less so of the scientific literature. The aim of the present review is to focus on the epidemiological, clinical and pharmacological issues related to ecstasy fatalities. Possibly due to a number of different reasons, the rates of ecstasy-related deaths seem to have...
Psychopharmacology
May 2004
Jonathan P. Roiser, Barbara J. Sahakian
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "ecstasy") causes serotonin neuron damage in laboratory animals. The serotonin system is known to be important in the regulation of mood. Previous research has shown that MDMA users score higher on self-report ratings of depression than controls. However, MDMA users commonly take other illicit substances and many studies do not fully control for...
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 2004
Boris B. Quednow, Kai‐uwe Kühn, Klaus Hoenig et al.
Chronic administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is associated with long-term depletion of serotonin (5-HT) and loss of 5-HT axons in the brains of rodents and nonhuman primates. Despite the broad database concerning the selective serotonergic neurotoxicity of recreational MDMA consumption by humans, controversy still exists with respect to the question of whether the...
Psychopharmacology
May 2004
K McCardle, S Luebbers, J D Carter et al.
It has been suggested that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) causes damage to the serotonergic system, and that this damage results in cognitive and mood impairments. To examine the effect of chronic MDMA usage on a wide battery of cognitive tests and psychological abilities and processes. In the present study, the performance of 17 participants with a history of MDMA use was...
FEBS Letters
April 9, 2004
Rabi Simantov, Weiping Peng
In several countries, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is currently the most abundant psychoactive recreational drug. MDMA induces numerous neuropsychiatric behaviors, serotonergic neuron degeneration, programmed death of cultured cells, hyperthermia and occasional fatality. Using gene expression analysis in MDMA-treated mice, we identified changes in gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)...