The effect of acutely administered MDMA on subjective and BOLD-fMRI responses to favourite and worst autobiographical memories
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology December 17, 2013 Robin Carhart‐Harris, Matthew B. Wall, David Erritzøe et al. 110 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) makes recalling favorite autobiographical memories feel more vivid, emotionally intense, and positive, while making recall of worst memories feel less negative. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled fMRI study with 19 participants who had prior MDMA experience, 100 mg of MDMA altered brain activity during memory recall: it increased activation in the fusiform gyrus and somatosensory cortex for favorite memories and decreased activation in the left anterior temporal cortex for worst memories. These neural changes suggest MDMA creates a positive emotional bias, which may explain why it helps patients revisit traumatic memories during psychotherapy for PTSD.