OPEN Foundation

M. Miller

MDMA does not alter responses to the Trier Social Stress Test in humans

April 21, 2017 / MDMA, Other subjects, Papers, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychotherapy / By / , ,

Abstract

Rationale

±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) is a stimulant-psychedelic drug with unique social effects. It may dampen reactivity to negative social stimuli such as social threat and rejection. Perhaps because of these effects, MDMA has shown promise as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the effect of single doses of MDMA on responses to an acute psychosocial stressor has not been tested.

Objectives

In this study, we sought to test the effects of MDMA on responses to stress in healthy adults using a public speaking task. We hypothesized that the drug would reduce responses to the stressful task.

Methods

Volunteers (N = 39) were randomly assigned to receive placebo (N = 13), 0.5 mg/kg MDMA (N = 13), or 1.0 mg/kg MDMA (N = 13) during a stress and a no-stress session. Dependent measures included subjective reports of drug effects and emotional responses to the task, as well as salivary cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Results

The stress task produced its expected increase in physiological responses (cortisol, heart rate) and subjective ratings of stress in all three groups, and MDMA produced its expected subjective and physiological effects. MDMA alone increased ratings of subjective stress, heart rate, and saliva cortisol concentrations, but contrary to our hypothesis, it did not moderate responses to the Trier Social Stress Test.

Conclusions

Despite its efficacy in PTSD and anxiety, MDMA did not reduce either the subjective or objective responses to stress in this controlled study. The conditions under which MDMA relieves responses to negative events or memories remain to be determined.

Bershad, A. K., Miller, M. A., & de Wit, H. (2017). MDMA does not alter responses to the Trier Social Stress Test in humans. Psychopharmacology, 1-8. 10.1007/s00213-017-4621-x
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The effects of MDMA on socio-emotional processing: Does MDMA differ from other stimulants?

August 25, 2016 / MDMA, Other subjects, Papers, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a popular recreational drug that enhances sociability and feelings of closeness with others. These “prosocial” effects appear to motivate the recreational use of MDMA and may also form the basis of its potential as an adjunct to psychotherapy. However, the extent to which MDMA differs from prototypic stimulant drugs, such as dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine, and methylphenidate, in either its behavioral effects or mechanisms of action, is not fully known. The purpose of this review is to evaluate human laboratory findings of the social effects of MDMA compared to other stimulants, ranging from simple subjective ratings of sociability to more complex elements of social processing and behavior. We also review the neurochemical mechanisms by which these drugs may impact sociability. Together, the findings reviewed here lay the groundwork for better understanding the socially enhancing effects of MDMA that distinguish it from other stimulant drugs, especially as these effects relate to the reinforcing and potentially therapeutic effects of the drug.

Bershad, A. K., Miller, M. A., Baggott, M. J., & de Wit, H. (2016). The effects of MDMA on socio-emotional processing: Does MDMA differ from other stimulants?. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 0269881116663120.
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Oxytocin receptor gene variation predicts subjective responses to MDMA

January 20, 2016 / MDMA, Neuroscience, Other subjects, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , , , ,

Abstract

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) enhances desire to socialize and feelings of empathy, which are thought to be related to increased oxytocin levels. Thus, variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may influence responses to the drug. Here we examined the influence of a single OXTR nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on responses to MDMA in humans. Based on findings that carriers of the A allele at rs53576 exhibit reduced sensitivity to oxytocin-induced social behavior, we hypothesized that these individuals would show reduced subjective responses to MDMA, including sociability. In this 3-session, double blind, within-subjects study, healthy volunteers with past MDMA experience (N = 68) received a MDMA (0, 0.75 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg) and provided self-report ratings of sociability, anxiety, and drug effects. These responses were examined in relation to rs53576. MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) did not increase sociability in individuals with the A/A genotype as it did in G allele carriers. The genotypic groups did not differ in responses at the lower MDMA dose, or in cardiovascular or other subjective responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that MDMA-induced sociability is mediated by oxytocin, and that variation in the oxytocin receptor gene may influence responses to the drug.

Bershad, A. K., Weafer, J. J., Kirkpatrick, M. G., Wardle, M. C., Miller, M. A., & de Wit, H. (2016). Oxytocin receptor gene variation predicts subjective responses to MDMA. Social neuroscience. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2016.1143026

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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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