Plasma oxytocin concentrations following MDMA or intranasal oxytocin in humans
Psychoneuroendocrinology April 19, 2014 M. Kirkpatrick, Sunday M. Francis, Royce J. Lee et al. 106 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) increases feelings of sociability and closeness. This study tested whether those effects come from a rise in the hormone oxytocin. In 14 healthy MDMA users given MDMA, oxytocin nasal spray, or placebo, only the higher MDMA dose (1.5 mg/kg) raised blood oxytocin levels to a peak of 83.7 pg/ml around 90–120 minutes, versus 18.6 pg/ml after placebo. The higher oxytocin spray (40 IU) raised levels to 48.0 pg/ml. MDMA increased heart rate, blood pressure, and feelings of euphoria and sociability, but oxytocin spray did not. The subjective effects of MDMA were not linked to oxytocin levels, suggesting oxytocin may not be the main cause of MDMA's prosocial effects.