Ecstasy (MDMA) effects upon mood and cognition: before, during and after a Saturday night dance

Abstract

Three groups of young people (aged 19-30 years) were compared: 15 regular ecstasy users who had taken MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) on ten or more occasions; 15 novice ecstasy users who had taken MDMA on fewer than ten previous occasions; and 15 controls who had never taken MDMA. Each subject completed a cognitive test and mood scale battery four times: an initial drug-free baseline, at a Saturday night dance/club (on-drug), then 2 days later, and 7 days later. On the Saturday night, regular ecstasy users took an average of 1.80 MDMA tablets, novice users took 1.45 MDMA tablets, while controls mostly drank alcohol. The consumption of cannabis and cocaine at the club was similar across groups. All three groups reported positive moods at the dance club (on-drug), although there were borderline trends (P < 0.10) for less sadness/depression in the MDMA subgroups. However 2 days afterwards, the ecstasy users felt significantly more depressed, abnormal, unsociable, unpleasant, and less good tempered, than the controls. Cognitive performance on both tasks (verbal recall, visual scanning) was significantly reduced on-MDMA. Memory recall was also significantly impaired in drug-free MDMA users, with regular ecstasy users displaying the worst memory scores at every test session. This agrees with previous findings of memory impairments in drug-free ecstasy users. Animal data have shown that MDMA can generate long-term serotonergic neurodegeneration in various brain areas, including the hippocampus. The cognitive deficits in drug-free recreational ecstasy users, suggest that MDMA may also be neurotoxic in humans.

The effects of concurrent cannabis use among ecstasy users: neuroprotective or neurotoxic?

“…However, by way of mitigation, it is noteworthy that most of the published studies that have probed cognitive deficits among ecstasy users have not resorted to urine, hair, or saliva testing (e.g., Fox et al, 2002;Morgan, 1998;Morgan, 1999;Parrott & Lasky, 1998;Rodgers, 2000). The importance of not over generalising from the present findings must also be stressed.…”

Functional Consequences of Repeated (±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Treatment in Rhesus Monkeys

“…The lasting functional effects of MDMA use may be relatively specific to mnemonic processing, since a number of studies have reported that MDMA users who are impaired on memory tasks exhibit normal performance on tests of reaction time, vigilance or selective attention (Krystal et al 1992;Vollenweider et al 1998). Additional evidence suggests that the degree of memory impairment in the MDMA user is positively correlated with the number of cumulative exposures to MDMA (Bolla et al 1998;Parrott and Lasky 1998). Finally, recent studies have demonstrated that electroencephalographic and metabolic (PET) measures of brain function are altered in MDMA users (Dafters et al 1999; …”

Co-administration of THC and MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) Synergistically Disrupts Memory in Rats

“…Braida et al (2002) found no effect of MDMA on acute short-term memory in rats, but subacute memory was affected (see also Barrionuevo et al, 2000). In human studies, MDMA users have demonstrated verbal memory impairments both while on-drug (Parrott and Lasky, 1998; and after a history of ecstasy use, while other cognitive functions appeared normal (Bolla et al, 1998;Reneman et al, 2000). Recently, however, attention has been drawn to the important distinctions between effects in human adults and adolescents (Jacobsen et al, 2004), and to the realization that many studies of human ecstasy users have not controlled sufficiently for poly-drug use (Roiser and Sahakian, 2003).…”

“…It is typically taken by young people at dance parties for its effects of euphoria, increased energy, sensuality, and a feeling of closeness to others (Downing, 1986;Verheyden et al, 2003). Elation, however, is often accompanied by anxiety and confusion (Tancer and Johanson, 2003), and other undesirable side effects include minor appetite loss, dryness of mouth, and bruxism, plus a characteristic period of depression, irritability, and impaired concentration lasting several days, which begins a day or two after taking the drug (Parrott and Lasky, 1998;Verheyden et al, 2003).…”