Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Andreas Huber, Anette Kjellgren, Torsten Passie
Dream-like and psychedelic experiences often seem internally illogical, but this may reflect a distinct, premodern mode of cognition called 'mythic' cognition rather than a cognitive deficit. Thirty-one participants underwent four 90-minute flotation REST sessions to induce altered, dream-like states. After each session, they completed the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory and additional questions targeting mythic cognition features. Participants showed significant phenomenological shifts toward experiences characteristic of mythic cognition, with altered states exhibiting ontological parallels to mythic conceptions of space, time, and substance. The findings suggest that the perceived illogicality in altered states arises from a distinct cognitive framework, not from deficits.
The History of MDMA
June 29, 2023
Torsten Passie
Between 1986 and 2000, a range of activities advanced understanding and use of MDMA. This period began with the first scientific conference on MDMA in 1986 and the founding of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). It included the first books on MDMA, a NIDA study on different user groups, early human research in the 1990s, harm-reduction approaches for recreational use, studies on patterns of recreational use, and the first treatment study for PTSD. The narrative also details the struggle to gain approval for the first placebo-controlled therapeutic MDMA study in the United States and reviews the more significant human MDMA research from 1990 to 2000.
The History of MDMA
June 29, 2023
Torsten Passie
MDMA was first synthesized by the pharmaceutical company Merck during a search for an alternative synthesis of the blood-clotting agent hydrastinine, after the original synthesis had been patented by another company. Merck's chemists developed a complicated synthesis that produced MDMA as an intermediate. Although MDMA had no medical significance itself, Merck subsequently resynthesized MDA a few times for specific purposes and conducted animal experiments without discovering its effects on humans. Two common myths—that the chemist Fritz Haber first synthesized MDMA during his dissertation and that MDMA was developed as an appetite suppressant—are shown to be false.
The History of MDMA
June 29, 2023
Torsten Passie
MDMA's popularity grew from the late 1970s onward, with first recreational use documented in Oregon. After human psychedelic research halted in the 1960s, the Association for the Responsible Use of Psychedelic Agents promoted MDMA's therapeutic use. The drug's recreational use expanded when a proselytizing aficionado began selling it in Texan bars and nightclubs, and larger-scale manufacturing by profit-seeking groups further stimulated demand. The chapter also covers 1985 press coverage and the role of the Indian guru Rajneesh in international distribution.
The History of MDMA
June 29, 2023
Torsten Passie
In the 1920s, physicians discovered that psychoactive substances could induce speech. The German Nazis first experimented with 'truth drugs' for interrogation. After American prisoners of war in the Korean war allegedly confessed to using biological weapons, the US Army suspected drug manipulation, triggering research into behavioral manipulation. Hallucinogens like mescaline and LSD were found mentally too 'irritating' for interrogations, shifting focus to less irritating euphoria-inducing substances like MDA. Research paused after an accidental death of an unwitting patient in an MDA experiment, leading to animal tests including with MDMA. Most documents from that period have been destroyed, but it seems unlikely MDMA was tested or used operationally on humans.
The History of MDMA
June 29, 2023
Torsten Passie
The American chemist Alexander T. Shulgin played a significant role in the rediscovery of MDMA in the 1970s. After a 1960 experience with mescaline, he synthesized and self-tested many psychoactive compounds. In the early 1960s he studied nutmeg chemistry, synthesizing MMDA from nutmeg oil in 1962. He first made MDMA in 1965 but did not test it then. Collaborating with psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo, they tested MDE and concluded it had no effect in small doses. In 1975 and 1976 Shulgin resynthesized MDMA, conducting self-trials. He gave MDMA to psychotherapist Leo Zeff in 1977, who distributed it to hundreds of therapists; knowledge of MDMA remained secret until a 1983 public conference.