Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
May 5, 2004
Michelle Wareing, John E. Fisk, Philip Murphy et al.
76 citations
People who currently use MDMA or have used it in the past show impairments in verbal working memory, specifically on a computation span task, compared to non-users. Current users also show deficits on a reading span task. The impairment on computation span persists even after statistically controlling for the use of cannabis and other drugs, suggesting MDMA may have a specific effect on certain executive functions.
Neuropsychobiology
January 1, 2009
Philip N. Murphy, Michelle Wareing, John E. Fisk et al.
49 citations
A review of 33 studies on abstinent ecstasy (MDMA) users found that deficits in executive functioning are most consistently observed for updating verbal information and for visuospatial memory tasks that demand more than simple storage and retrieval, suggesting the overall level of executive demand is important. Evidence for impairment in shifting between mental sets was weak, while findings for inhibition and long-term memory access were unclear. All but one study used a cross-sectional design, a noted limitation, but researchers generally controlled for confounds such as other drug use through group designs and statistics. The review recommends future studies specify which executive processes tasks measure and consider task difficulty.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2005
Catharine Montgomery, John E. Fisk, Russell Newcombe et al.
22 citations
Recreational use of MDMA (Ecstasy) is linked to impairments in syllogistic reasoning, a form of logical deduction. In a study comparing 22 MDMA users (average age 21.36) with 26 non-users (average age 21.31), users performed significantly worse on reasoning tasks, even after accounting for other drug use. However, this deficit was no longer statistically significant when differences in working memory capacity were considered. The findings suggest that MDMA-related declines in working memory and executive function may underlie the observed reasoning difficulties.