MDMA (ecstasy) causes a strong increase in blood oxytocin levels and enhances feelings of prosociality in healthy people. The changes in prosocial feelings are more closely tied to changes in oxytocin than to changes in MDMA concentration in the blood. This suggests that oxytocin release may be a key mechanism behind the drug's characteristic social effects.
Taking MDMA and ethanol together does not worsen the effects of either drug alone. While the impairment caused by each drug condition was relatively moderate, all drug conditions significantly impaired cognitive function.
Ibogaine, a hallucinogen, reduces drug self-administration in animals, especially within the first 24 hours, but causes motor impairment and cerebral cell loss. In a meta-analysis of 27 animal studies, ibogaine did not affect conditioned place preference. Human data from 15 opiate-dependent patients treated with 10 mg/kg ibogaine are still being collected; initial observations show strong QTc prolongation and ataxia, with relatively mild opiate withdrawal symptoms. Ibogaine may reduce opiate withdrawal but carries risks of transient cardiac and cerebellar toxicity, warranting further systematic studies on its safety and efficacy for treating opiate dependence.