Oxytocin receptor gene variation predicts subjective responses to MDMA
Social Neuroscience – January 20, 2016
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
MDMA, or "ecstasy," significantly boosts sociability and empathy, potentially linked to oxytocin levels. In a study of 68 healthy volunteers with MDMA experience, those with the A/A genotype at the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) showed no increase in sociability after a high dose of MDMA (1.5 mg/kg), unlike G allele carriers who did. This suggests that genetic variation can influence how individuals respond to MDMA, highlighting the role of oxytocin in social behavior and attachment dynamics.
Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") enhances desire to socialize and feelings of empathy, which are thought to be related to increased oxytocin levels. Thus, variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may influence responses to the drug. Here, we examined the influence of a single OXTR nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on responses to MDMA in humans. Based on findings that carriers of the A allele at rs53576 exhibit reduced sensitivity to oxytocin-induced social behavior, we hypothesized that these individuals would show reduced subjective responses to MDMA, including sociability. In this three-session, double blind, within-subjects study, healthy volunteers with past MDMA experience (N = 68) received a MDMA (0, 0.75 mg/kg, and 1.5 mg/kg) and provided self-report ratings of sociability, anxiety, and drug effects. These responses were examined in relation to rs53576. MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) did not increase sociability in individuals with the A/A genotype as it did in G allele carriers. The genotypic groups did not differ in responses at the lower MDMA dose, or in cardiovascular or other subjective responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that MDMA-induced sociability is mediated by oxytocin, and that variation in the oxytocin receptor gene may influence responses to the drug.