The effect of MDMA administration on oxytocin concentration levels: systematic review and a multilevel meta-analysis in humans.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews October 1, 2025 Anna Vaslavski, Anna Harwood Gross, Salomon Israel et al. 1 citation
MDMA temporarily raises oxytocin levels in a time-dependent way, with the peak occurring between 150 and 200 minutes after administration, then declining. A systematic review and meta-analysis of ten studies (39 effect size estimates) found that the dose of MDMA did not significantly predict changes in oxytocin. A trend suggested that samples with more female participants showed smaller increases in oxytocin. These findings indicate that MDMA's prosocial effects may be linked to this transient oxytocin elevation, which could inform the timing of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions. Standardized methods and larger studies are needed to clarify these effects.