Effects of MDMA-like Substances in Healthy Subjects

Abstract

The serotonin (5-HT) and oxytocin releaser and so-called "empathogen" 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) acutely produces positive feelings, empathy, and trust. MDMA is used recreationally (ecstasy), as research tool to study 5-HT and oxytocin function, and is investigated for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. MDMA is metabolized in part (10%) to the psychoactive metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) which itself is also a recreational substance and has also been used to assist psychotherapy in the past. The present study aims to describe and directly compare for the first time the effects of MDMA and MDA in the same healthy volunteers and using modern psychological and psychometric tests. Additionally, although amphetamines including MDMA and MDA induce mainly positive subjective effects they may also produce negative subjective drug effects including anxiety in particular at the onset of the subjective response and the rapid onset of euphoria may increase the risk of abuse. Additionally, blood pressure may increase rapidly at drug onset. A possible solution to mitigate anxiety, abuse-related rapid euphoria increases and/or rapid blood pressure changes at onset consist of slowing the onset of the drug effect by using a slow-release formulation of MDMA. In the present study, the investigators will characterize the effects of lysine-MDMA and lysine-MDA and compare their effects with MDMA/MDA to test the concept of attenuated effects across both substances.

Topics & conditions

Detected automatically by Psychedelic Commons from the title and abstract, not labels from the source. They may be incomplete.

Keywords