MDMA Effects in Brain: Pharmacologic Profile and Evidence of Neurotoxicity from Neurochemical and Autoradiographic Studies

Abstract

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine ({MDMA}), a ring-substituted derivative of methamphetamine, has been reported to exhibit both stimulant and psychotomimetic properties [1–3]. {MDMA} has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its increasing abuse among certain segments of the population [4, 5] and has been the focus of a number of review articles [6, 7] and symposia [8, 9]. Recent data demonstrating that {MDMA} is self-administered by both rhesus monkeys [10] and baboons [11] suggest that {MDMA} may have high abuse potential in man. These reports are particularly disturbing, as we and others have recently demonstrated that {MDMA} is a potent neurotoxin that appears to cause selective degeneration of brain serotonin neurons [12–16], comparable to that reported for its structural analogue. 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine ({MDA}) [12,17–18].