A randomized controlled trial of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and fear extinction retention in healthy adults
Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2022 Jessica L. Maples‐keller, Seth D. Norrholm, Mark Burton et al. 53 citations
A randomized placebo-controlled trial tested whether MDMA enhances fear extinction retention in healthy adults. Participants underwent fear conditioning, then received 100 mg MDMA or placebo before extinction training. Fear retention was tested 48 hours later. MDMA was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events. While the overall analysis showed no significant group difference in extinction retention between training and test sessions, a significantly larger proportion of the MDMA group retained extinction learning compared to the placebo group. The results provide a rationale for further research into MDMA's potential effects on fear extinction.