The present study examined the mechanisms by which 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces long-term neurotoxicity of striatal dopamine neurones in mice and the protective action of the dopamine uptake inhibitor GBR 12909. MDMA (30 mg/kg, i.p.), given three times at 3-h intervals, produced a rapid increase in striatal dopamine release measured by in vivo microdialysis (maximum increas...

A two-lever, food-motivated, operant technique was employed to train the purportedly serotonergically dysfunctional Fawn-Hooded (FH) rat to discriminate 1.5 mg/kg MDMA. Once all 10 male subjects learned the MDMA-vehicle discrimination at criterion performance level, doses different than the training dose were used to generate a dose-response discrimination gradient. The ED50 value of MDMA was s...

The present study examined the effect of N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) on 3,4-methylenedioxmathamphetamine (MDMA)-induced depletion of serotonin in the CNS. Rats were treated with two concurrent injections of MDMA (20 mg/kg, s.c.), PBN (50-400 mg/kg dissolved in ethanol, 50 mg/ml of 25% ethanol, i.p.), saline or 25% ethanol, alone or in combination, 6 h apart, and sacrificed 5 days lat...

AIMS 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can affect both neurotransmitter and neurohormonal activity. This review will debate the role of the metabolic activation hormone cortisol for the psychobiological effects of ecstasy/MDMA. METHODS The empirical literature on cortisol release following acute MDMA administration and cortisol functioning in drug-free recreational ecstasy/MDMA users w...

BACKGROUND Ecstasy use is commonly linked with memory deficits in abstinent ecstasy users. Similar impairments are being found during ecstasy intoxication after single doses of ± 3,4 metylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The concordance of memory impairments during intoxication and abstinence suggests a similar neuropharmacological mechanism underlying acute and chronic memory impairments. The m...

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine, a.k.a. "ecstasy") was first synthesized in 1912 and resynthesized more than once for pharmaceutical reasons before it became a popular recreational drug. Partially based on previously overlooked U.S. government documentation, this article reconstructs the early history of MDMA as a recreational drug in the U.S. from 1960 to 1979. According to the lite...

OBJECTIVE "Ecstasy," or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), causes long-term impairment to the serotonin (5-HT) system in rats, dogs, and nonhuman primates. 5-HT dysfunction has also been observed in human recreational users of the drug, but whether 5-HT dysfunction in humans is caused by MDMA has not been established, since dysfunction may have preceded MDMA exposure. This ambiguity abou...

In this study, a simple and reliable method by gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed for the fast and regular identification of 3, 4-MDMA impurities in ecstasy tablets. In so doing, 8 samples of impurities were extracted by diethyl ether under alkaline condition and then analyzed by GC–MS. The results revealed high MDMA levels ranging from 37.6% to 57.7%. The GC-MS method sh...

The binding of [3H]3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [( 3H]MDMA) to both rat brain membrane preparations and glass fiber filter papers was analyzed in the present study. Saturation studies indicate that [3H]MDMA binding is saturable and monophasic in both the presence and absence of rat brain membranes. This apparent 'specific' binding of [3H]MDMA in both the presence and absence of brain homog...

Hyponatremia is a serious complication of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use. We investigated potential mechanisms in two double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. In Study 1, healthy drug-experienced volunteers received MDMA or placebo alone and in combination with the alpha-1 adrenergic inverse agonist prazosin, used as a positive control to release antidiuretic hormone (ADH). In St...