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Recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or 'ecstasy': Current perspective and future research prospects
Andrew C Parrott1,2, Luke A Downey2,3, Carl A Roberts4
11 Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
|June 30, 2017
Summary
Recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use can lead to varied psychobiological deficits, including cognitive and visual impairments. Future research should explore multi-factorial causes for these diverse effects in users.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or ecstasy) use has been linked to various psychobiological effects.
- Early research in the 1990s indicated selective deficits in regular users, such as memory and mood impairments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To debate current understandings of the psychobiological effects of recreational MDMA.
- To recommend theoretically-driven topics for future research on MDMA's impact.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent empirical findings on MDMA's psychobiological effects.
- Examination of potential causes for high variance in user outcomes.
Main Results:
- More recent research reveals deficits in vision, cognition, neurohormonal function, and fetal development.
- High variance in effects suggests some users are more affected than others.
- A multi-factorial causation model is proposed to explain these diverse outcomes.
Conclusions:
- MDMA's psychobiological effects are complex and vary significantly among users.
- Further research is needed to understand the multi-factorial causes of these deficits.
- Future studies should utilize neuroimaging to explore serotonergic and neurohormonal changes.