PMID- 14970829
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20040525
LR  - 20150311
IS  - 0893-133X (Print)
IS  - 0893-133X (Linking)
VI  - 29
IP  - 5
DP  - 2004 May
TI  - Prepulse inhibition and habituation of acoustic startle response in male MDMA 
      ('ecstasy') users, cannabis users, and healthy controls.
PG  - 982-90
AB  - Chronic administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is associated 
      with long-term depletion of serotonin (5-HT) and loss of 5-HT axons in the brains 
      of rodents and nonhuman primates. Despite the broad database concerning the 
      selective serotonergic neurotoxicity of recreational MDMA consumption by humans, 
      controversy still exists with respect to the question of whether the well-known 
      functional consequences of these neurotoxic effects, such as memory impairment, 
      were caused by chronic 5-HT deficiency. Habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI) 
      of the acoustic startle response (ASR) can be used as a marker of central 
      serotonergic functioning in rodents and humans. Thus, we investigated the 
      functional status of the central serotonergic system in chronic but abstinent 
      MDMA users by measuring PPI and habituation of ASR. PPI and habituation of ASR 
      were measured in three groups. The first group (MDMA group) included 20 male 
      drug-free chronic users of MDMA; the second group (cannabis group) consisted of 
      20 male drug-free chronic users of cannabis; and the third group (healthy 
      controls) comprised 20 male participants with no history of illicit drug use. 
      Analysis revealed significantly increased PPI of MDMA users compared to those of 
      cannabis users and healthy controls. Cannabis users and healthy controls showed 
      comparable patterns of PPI. There were no differences in habituation among the 
      three groups. These results suggest that the functional consequences of chronic 
      MDMA use may be explained by 5-HT receptor changes rather than by a chronic 5-HT 
      deficiency condition. Use of cannabis does not lead to alterations of amplitude, 
      habituation, or PPI of ASR.
FAU - Quednow, Boris B
AU  - Quednow BB
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Germany. 
      boris.quednow@ukb.uni-bonn.de
FAU - Kuhn, Kai-Uwe
AU  - Kuhn KU
FAU - Hoenig, Klaus
AU  - Hoenig K
FAU - Maier, Wolfgang
AU  - Maier W
FAU - Wagner, Michael
AU  - Wagner M
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Neuropsychopharmacology
JT  - Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of 
      Neuropsychopharmacology
JID - 8904907
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 0 (Receptors, Serotonin)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Acoustic Stimulation
MH  - Adult
MH  - Habituation, Psychophysiologic/drug effects
MH  - *Hallucinogens
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Marijuana Abuse/*psychology
MH  - *N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
MH  - Receptors, Serotonin/drug effects
MH  - Reflex, Startle/*drug effects
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*psychology
EDAT- 2004/02/19 05:00
MHDA- 2004/05/27 05:00
CRDT- 2004/02/19 05:00
PHST- 2004/02/19 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2004/05/27 05:00 [medline]
PHST- 2004/02/19 05:00 [entrez]
AID - 1300396 [pii]
AID - 10.1038/sj.npp.1300396 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 May;29(5):982-90. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300396.