No Difference in Brain Activation During Cognitive Performance Between Ecstasy (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) Users and Control Subjects: A [H215O]-Positron Emission Tomography Study
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology February 1, 2001 Alex Gamma, Alfred Buck, Thomas Berthold et al. 84 citations
Regular polytoxic Ecstasy users show higher levels of depressiveness than non-users, but their brain activity during a sustained-attention task does not differ from controls. Mood was assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the EWL Mood Rating Scale, while regional cerebral blood flow was measured using positron emission tomography. Both groups performed equally on the cognitive task. The heightened depressiveness in Ecstasy users is consistent with previous studies and may relate to serotonergic hypofunction from repeated MDMA consumption, but the study cannot rule out that these mood differences existed before Ecstasy use.