Archives of General Psychiatry
June 6, 2011
David Erritzøe, Vibe G. Frøkjær, Klaus K. Holst et al.
86 citations
MDMA use, but not hallucinogen use, is linked to changes in the brain's presynaptic serotonin system. Because hallucinogens primarily act on serotonin 2A receptors, the negative association between MDMA use and serotonin transporter (SERT) binding is likely due to MDMA's direct presynaptic effect rather than its serotonin 2A agonistic actions. Cross-sectional data suggest that subcortical, but not cortical, SERT binding may recover after several months of MDMA abstinence.
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
February 14, 2014
Vibe G. Frøkjær, David Erritzøe, Klaus K. Holst et al.
19 citations
Prefrontal serotonin transporter binding is positively associated with the cortisol awakening response, a measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis output, in both MDMA users and non-users. MDMA users showed a significantly higher cortisol awakening response than non-users. The findings suggest that the inhibitory control on HPA-axis output is less efficient after recent MDMA use, likely through mechanisms beyond those compensated by reduced serotonin transporter levels.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 6, 2016
Helle Ruff Laursen, Susanne Henningsson, Julian Macoveanu et al.
8 citations
Prolonged recreational use of MDMA (ecstasy) alters serotonin neurotransmission, similar to a depleted state. In this fMRI study, 14 ecstasy users and 12 non-users viewed faces expressing anger, disgust, fear, sadness, or no emotion while their amygdala activity was measured. Serotonin transporter binding, assessed via PET, correlated negatively with amygdala activity in users. Greater lifetime ecstasy intake was associated with increased amygdala activity during angry face processing, while longer time since last use showed a trend toward decreased activity during angry and sad face processing. The results indicate dose-dependent effects of long-term serotonin depletion on emotional face processing.