Hey BL-
I had to write a paper on MDMA and memory for a neuroscience class, and I figured you guys might appreciate it. If anyone spots any glaring errors, please let me know!
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), or ecstasy as it is more commonly known, is a popular recreational drug that was made illegal by the federal government in 1985, due in part to a well-popularized study claiming that a single dose could cause heavy neurotoxicity leading to Parkinson’s disease later in life (Ricaurte). While this study was later retracted and indeed, more recent studies have shown MDMA to be safe for humans in a clinical setting (Mithoefer), MDMA does appear to affect working memory, both during exposure and for some time afterwards, evidenced by both human memory testing and reduction of cerebral blood flow to areas critical to memory in brain scans.
In a study conducted by Parrot et al, young people aged 19-30 were given a memory test during four different phases of MDMA exposure in a night club environment: before the experience, during, 2 days after, and 7 days after. Test groups included experienced users with more than ten lifetime ecstasy experiences, novice users with less than ten lifetime experiences, and an MDMA naive control group. Memory was assessed using a word recall exercise. As expected, significant memory impairment was demonstrated during MDMA exposure (MDMA users remembered about 70% of the words non-MDMA users remembered), but more interestingly the impairment continued for several days after exposure. Furthermore, this impairment was more pronounced in regular MDMA users than the novice users, demonstrating cumulative memory impairment rather than acute brain damage to one particular area, as might occur with a lesion.
Chang et al studied the effects of MDMA on cerebral blood flow using SPECT and MRI. 21 abstinent MDMA users were compared with 21 matched healthy users. Abstinent MDMA users showed no significantly different global or regional cerebral blood flow compared to the control subjects; however, 3 weeks after MDMA exposure, rCBF remained decreased in areas found to be directly related to memory, such as the caudate, the superior parietal and dorsolateral frontal regions compared to baseline. It should be noted, however, that these levels appeared to have returned to normal following about four months of MDMA abstinence. Chang also found that low-dose recreational MDMA exposure doesn’t appear to cause detectable persistent changes in humans, while higher dose exposure has a greater potential to cause such changes.
Taken together, these findings create the beginnings of a logical yet still somewhat hazy profile of MDMA’s effects on memory – while there is little doubt that acute MDMA exposure significantly affects memory, it appears that these changes are transient and are unlikely the result of physiological damage to the brain itself. Chang postulates that as a potent vasoconstrictor, serotonin, which is released heavily during MDMA exposure, might be the direct cause of decreased cerebral blood flow, which occurred in the aforementioned brain regions directly relating to memory. It would appear as if the results obtained by Parrot are enforced by the brain scan data obtained by Chang.
All in all, MDMA certainly is shaping up to be a powerful drug with drastic effects on many brain systems, potentially leading to memory and other impairments, though it would appear that these impairments are transient and not the result of physiological brain damage such as that caused by a lesion; even if such brain damage does occur, as may be the case in long term and/or high dose ecstasy users, it seems as if the brain is capable of recovering a great deal of its lost abilities following a prolonged abstinence, regardless of the mechanism of action. Considering some of the incredible recent research conducted by Mithoefer on ecstasy’s ability to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, it would appear as if a second coming of ecstasy may be imminent, this time backed by much more comprehensive research instead of overly brash claims of Parkinson’s disease based upon faulty laboratory data.
I had to write a paper on MDMA and memory for a neuroscience class, and I figured you guys might appreciate it. If anyone spots any glaring errors, please let me know!
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), or ecstasy as it is more commonly known, is a popular recreational drug that was made illegal by the federal government in 1985, due in part to a well-popularized study claiming that a single dose could cause heavy neurotoxicity leading to Parkinson’s disease later in life (Ricaurte). While this study was later retracted and indeed, more recent studies have shown MDMA to be safe for humans in a clinical setting (Mithoefer), MDMA does appear to affect working memory, both during exposure and for some time afterwards, evidenced by both human memory testing and reduction of cerebral blood flow to areas critical to memory in brain scans.
In a study conducted by Parrot et al, young people aged 19-30 were given a memory test during four different phases of MDMA exposure in a night club environment: before the experience, during, 2 days after, and 7 days after. Test groups included experienced users with more than ten lifetime ecstasy experiences, novice users with less than ten lifetime experiences, and an MDMA naive control group. Memory was assessed using a word recall exercise. As expected, significant memory impairment was demonstrated during MDMA exposure (MDMA users remembered about 70% of the words non-MDMA users remembered), but more interestingly the impairment continued for several days after exposure. Furthermore, this impairment was more pronounced in regular MDMA users than the novice users, demonstrating cumulative memory impairment rather than acute brain damage to one particular area, as might occur with a lesion.
Chang et al studied the effects of MDMA on cerebral blood flow using SPECT and MRI. 21 abstinent MDMA users were compared with 21 matched healthy users. Abstinent MDMA users showed no significantly different global or regional cerebral blood flow compared to the control subjects; however, 3 weeks after MDMA exposure, rCBF remained decreased in areas found to be directly related to memory, such as the caudate, the superior parietal and dorsolateral frontal regions compared to baseline. It should be noted, however, that these levels appeared to have returned to normal following about four months of MDMA abstinence. Chang also found that low-dose recreational MDMA exposure doesn’t appear to cause detectable persistent changes in humans, while higher dose exposure has a greater potential to cause such changes.
Taken together, these findings create the beginnings of a logical yet still somewhat hazy profile of MDMA’s effects on memory – while there is little doubt that acute MDMA exposure significantly affects memory, it appears that these changes are transient and are unlikely the result of physiological damage to the brain itself. Chang postulates that as a potent vasoconstrictor, serotonin, which is released heavily during MDMA exposure, might be the direct cause of decreased cerebral blood flow, which occurred in the aforementioned brain regions directly relating to memory. It would appear as if the results obtained by Parrot are enforced by the brain scan data obtained by Chang.
All in all, MDMA certainly is shaping up to be a powerful drug with drastic effects on many brain systems, potentially leading to memory and other impairments, though it would appear that these impairments are transient and not the result of physiological brain damage such as that caused by a lesion; even if such brain damage does occur, as may be the case in long term and/or high dose ecstasy users, it seems as if the brain is capable of recovering a great deal of its lost abilities following a prolonged abstinence, regardless of the mechanism of action. Considering some of the incredible recent research conducted by Mithoefer on ecstasy’s ability to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, it would appear as if a second coming of ecstasy may be imminent, this time backed by much more comprehensive research instead of overly brash claims of Parkinson’s disease based upon faulty laboratory data.
