Acute MDMA and Nicotine Co-administration: Behavioral Effects and Oxidative Stress Processes in Mice
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience August 2, 2018 Barbara Budzynska, Artur Wnorowski, Katarzyna Kaszubska et al. 9 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) and nicotine activate shared neuronal pathways. In male Swiss mice, a single injection of MDMA (1 mg/kg) or MDMA combined with nicotine (0.05 mg/kg) improved memory consolidation in a passive avoidance test. MDMA also increased locomotor activity in mice that had developed behavioral sensitization to nicotine. The study reports for the first time strong behavioral and biochemical interactions between the two drugs, including effects on oxidative stress and α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. These findings may help explain why people often co-use MDMA and nicotine.