PMID- 12452538
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20030326
LR  - 20190910
IS  - 0278-5846 (Print)
IS  - 0278-5846 (Linking)
VI  - 26
IP  - 6
DP  - 2002 Oct
TI  - Acute and subchronic effects of MDMA ("ecstasy") on anxiety in male mice tested 
      in the elevated plus-maze.
PG  - 1151-4
AB  - 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a compound structurally similar to 
      methamphetamine, which has become one of the most widely used illicit substances. 
      Animal studies investigating acute effects of MDMA on anxiety are unclear since, 
      although an anxiogenic-like action of MDMA in different animal models of anxiety 
      has been mainly described, there is also evidence supporting an anxiolytic-like 
      effect for this drug. An attempt was made to clarify the possible anxiogenic-like 
      profile of MDMA (1, 8 and 15 mg/kg i.p.) by analyzing its effect on behavior of 
      male mice in the elevated plus-maze test. Moreover, the possible development of 
      tolerance to the effects of MDMA on anxiety after its subchronic administration 
      for 5 consecutive days was examined. The parameters evaluated included: (1) total 
      time in open arms, (2) total time in closed arms, (3) total time in central area, 
      (4) number of open arm entries, (5) number of closed arm entries and (6) number 
      of central area entries. Acute treatment with MDMA (8 mg/kg) significantly 
      reduced the time spent in the open arms, as well as markedly increasing the 
      number of entries in the closed arms and in the central area, as compared with 
      the control group, suggesting that MDMA, at this dose, has an anxiogenic-like 
      activity. Mice subchronically treated with the drug (1 and 8 mg/kg) displayed a 
      notable reduction in the time spent in the open arms, accompanied by an increase 
      in the time spent in the closed arms and in the central platform. These results 
      indicate that the anxiogenic-like effect found after acute treatment is not only 
      maintained but also more marked after subchronic treatment. In contrast, mice 
      treated subchronically with the highest dose of MDMA (15 mg/kg) exhibited a 
      significant increase in the time spent in the open arms as well as a marked 
      reduction in the time spent in the closed arms, supporting an anxiolytic-like 
      activity of the drug. A possible dual pharmacological property of MDMA on anxiety 
      is suggested.
FAU - Navarro, Jose Francisco
AU  - Navarro JF
AD  - Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Malaga, Campus 
      de Teatinos, 29071 Malaga, Spain. navahuma@uma.es
FAU - Maldonado, Enrique
AU  - Maldonado E
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
JT  - Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
JID - 8211617
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Anxiety/*chemically induced/*psychology
MH  - Avoidance Learning/drug effects/physiology
MH  - Behavior, Animal/drug effects
MH  - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
MH  - Drug Tolerance
MH  - Hallucinogens/*toxicity
MH  - Male
MH  - Mice
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*toxicity
EDAT- 2002/11/28 04:00
MHDA- 2003/03/27 05:00
CRDT- 2002/11/28 04:00
PHST- 2002/11/28 04:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/03/27 05:00 [medline]
PHST- 2002/11/28 04:00 [entrez]
AID - S0278-5846(02)00250-6 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/s0278-5846(02)00250-6 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Oct;26(6):1151-4. doi: 
      10.1016/s0278-5846(02)00250-6.