PLoS ONE
July 10, 2012
Janelle H. P. van Wel, Kim P. C. Kuypers, Eef L. Theunissen et al.
121 citations
MDMA increases both positive moods (vigor, arousal, friendliness, elation) and negative moods (anxiety, confusion) while also slowing reaction times on impulsivity tasks, indicating greater impulse control. Blocking 5-HT(2) receptors with ketanserin prevented the positive mood effects but not the negative mood or impulsivity changes. Blocking 5-HT(1) receptors with pindolol had no effect on any MDMA-related mood or impulse measures. Thus, 5-HT(2) receptors are specifically involved in MDMA's positive mood enhancement, while 5-HT(1) receptors do not appear to play a role in these effects.
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 11, 2011
Janelle H. P. van Wel, Kim P. C. Kuypers, Eef L. Theunissen et al.
52 citations
Blocking the 5-HT(2A) receptor with ketanserin prevented MDMA-induced impairment on a word-learning task, but not on spatial or prospective memory tasks. Blocking the 5-HT(1A) receptor with pindolol had no effect on any memory task. MDMA alone significantly impaired performance in all three memory tasks. The findings indicate that MDMA-induced verbal memory impairment is mediated by 5-HT(2A) receptor stimulation.
Psychopharmacology
January 18, 2010
Wendy M. Bosker, Kim P. C. Kuypers, Silke Conen et al.
45 citations
Sleep deprivation impairs psychomotor function, and the stimulant effects of MDMA are not sufficient to compensate for this impairment. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, 16 recreational MDMA users received single doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg. While MDMA did not generally affect performance, the highest dose improved rapid information processing in the morning after administration. In the evening, MDMA increased subjective ratings of positive mood at every dose and subjective arousal at the highest dose, but these subjective effects were no longer present after a night of sleep loss.