PMID- 21603895
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120213
LR  - 20211020
IS  - 1432-2072 (Electronic)
IS  - 0033-3158 (Linking)
VI  - 217
IP  - 4
DP  - 2011 Oct
TI  - Altered pain responses in abstinent (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 
      "ecstasy") users.
PG  - 475-84
LID - 10.1007/s00213-011-2303-7 [doi]
AB  - RATIONALE: (+/-)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a popular recreational 
      drug that has potential to damage brain serotonin (5-HT) neurons in humans. Brain 
      5-HT neurons play a role in pain modulation, yet little is known about long-term 
      effects of MDMA on pain function. Notably, MDMA users have been shown to have 
      altered sleep, a phenomenon that can lead to altered pain modulation. OBJECTIVES: 
      This study sought to assess pain processing in MDMA users using objective 
      methods, and explore potential relationships between pain processing and sleep 
      indices. METHODS: Forty-two abstinent MDMA users and 43 age-matched controls 
      participated in a 5-day inpatient study. Outcome measures included standardized 
      measures of pain, sleep polysomnograms, and power spectral measures of the sleep 
      EEG. When differences in psychophysiological measures of pain were found, the 
      relationship between pain and sleep measures was explored. RESULTS: MDMA users 
      demonstrated lower pressure pain thresholds, increased cold pain ratings, 
      increased pain ratings during testing of diffuse noxious inhibitory control, and 
      decreased Stage 2 sleep. Numerous significant relationships between sleep and 
      pain measures were identified, but differences in sleep between the two groups 
      were not found to mediate altered pain perception in MDMA users. CONCLUSIONS: 
      Abstinent MDMA users have altered pain perception and sleep architecture. 
      Although pain and sleep outcomes were related, differences in sleep architecture 
      in MDMA users did not mediate altered pain responses. It remains to be determined 
      whether alterations in pain perception in MDMA users are secondary to 
      neurotoxicity of 5-HT-mediated pain pathways or alterations in other brain 
      processes that modulate pain perception.
FAU - McCann, Una D
AU  - McCann UD
AD  - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University 
      School of Medicine, 5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Room 5B71c, Baltimore, MD 21224, 
      USA. umccann@jhmi.edu
FAU - Edwards, Robert R
AU  - Edwards RR
FAU - Smith, Michael T
AU  - Smith MT
FAU - Kelley, Kristen
AU  - Kelley K
FAU - Wilson, Michael
AU  - Wilson M
FAU - Sgambati, Francis
AU  - Sgambati F
FAU - Ricaurte, George
AU  - Ricaurte G
LA  - eng
GR  - R01 DA05938/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R01 DA16563/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Clinical Trial
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
DEP - 20110521
PL  - Germany
TA  - Psychopharmacology (Berl)
JT  - Psychopharmacology
JID - 7608025
RN  - 333DO1RDJY (Serotonin)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Brain/drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*adverse effects
MH  - Neuropsychological Tests
MH  - Neurotoxicity Syndromes/metabolism/psychology
MH  - Pain Measurement
MH  - Pain Threshold/*psychology
MH  - Physical Stimulation
MH  - Regression Analysis
MH  - Serotonin/metabolism
MH  - Sleep/*drug effects
MH  - Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/metabolism/*psychology
MH  - Young Adult
EDAT- 2011/05/24 06:00
MHDA- 2012/02/14 06:00
CRDT- 2011/05/24 06:00
PHST- 2010/10/15 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2011/04/04 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2011/05/24 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/05/24 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/02/14 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1007/s00213-011-2303-7 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Oct;217(4):475-84. doi: 
      10.1007/s00213-011-2303-7. Epub 2011 May 21.