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Cognitive performance in (+/-) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") users: a controlled study
U D McCann1, M Mertl, V Eligulashvili
1Unit on Anxiety, Biological Psychiatry Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1272, USA. umccann@helix.nih.gov
Psychopharmacology
|June 15, 1999
Summary
Recreational use of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) may cause neurotoxic effects on serotonin neurons. MDMA users showed significant cognitive deficits in attention, memory, and reasoning, linked to reduced brain serotonin function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychopharmacology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a recreational drug known to damage serotonin (5-HT) neurons in animals.
- Functional consequences of MDMA-induced serotonin neurotoxicity in humans are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of previous MDMA exposure on cognitive functions beyond memory.
- To explore the relationship between MDMA use, serotonin neuron integrity, and cognitive performance.
Main Methods:
- A controlled inpatient study assessed cognitive performance in 22 MDMA users (abstinent ≥ 3 weeks) and 23 controls using a computerized battery.
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monoamine metabolite levels were measured to assess brain monoaminergic function.
Main Results:
- MDMA users exhibited significant deficits in sustained attention with arithmetic, complex attention with incidental learning, short-term memory, and semantic recognition/verbal reasoning.
- MDMA users showed selective reductions in CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), an indicator of serotonin turnover.
Conclusions:
- CSF findings support MDMA's neurotoxic effect on human serotonin neurons.
- Observed cognitive deficits in MDMA users are associated with serotonin system impairment.
