PMID- 26966023
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20171116
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 1469-8978 (Electronic)
IS  - 0033-2917 (Print)
IS  - 0033-2917 (Linking)
VI  - 46
IP  - 8
DP  - 2016 Jun
TI  - Meta-analysis of executive functioning in ecstasy/polydrug users.
PG  - 1581-96
LID - 10.1017/S0033291716000258 [doi]
AB  - Ecstasy/3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use is proposed to cause damage 
      to serotonergic (5-HT) axons in humans. Therefore, users should show deficits in 
      cognitive processes that rely on serotonin-rich, prefrontal areas of the brain. 
      However, there is inconsistency in findings to support this hypothesis. The aim 
      of the current study was to examine deficits in executive functioning in ecstasy 
      users compared with controls using meta-analysis. We identified k = 39 studies, 
      contributing 89 effect sizes, investigating executive functioning in ecstasy 
      users and polydrug-using controls. We compared function-specific task performance 
      in 1221 current ecstasy users and 1242 drug-using controls, from tasks tapping 
      the executive functions - updating, switching, inhibition and access to long-term 
      memory. The significant main effect demonstrated overall executive dysfunction in 
      ecstasy users [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.18, 95% confidence 
      interval (CI) -0.26 to -0.11, Z = 5.05, p < 0.001, I 2 = 82%], with a significant 
      subgroup effect (chi 2 = 22.06, degrees of freedom = 3, p < 0.001, I 2 = 86.4%) 
      demonstrating differential effects across executive functions. Ecstasy users 
      showed significant performance deficits in access (SMD = -0.33, 95% CI -0.46 to 
      -0.19, Z = 4.72, p < 0.001, I 2 = 74%), switching (SMD = -0.19, 95% CI -0.36 to 
      -0.02, Z = 2.16, p < 0.05, I 2 = 85%) and updating (SMD = -0.26, 95% CI -0.37 to 
      -0.15, Z = 4.49, p < 0.001, I 2 = 82%). No differences were observed in 
      inhibitory control. We conclude that this is the most comprehensive analysis of 
      executive function in ecstasy users to date and provides a behavioural correlate 
      of potential serotonergic neurotoxicity.
FAU - Roberts, C A
AU  - Roberts CA
AD  - Department of Psychological Sciences,University of Liverpool,Liverpool,UK.
FAU - Jones, A
AU  - Jones A
AD  - Department of Psychological Sciences,University of Liverpool,Liverpool,UK.
FAU - Montgomery, C
AU  - Montgomery C
AD  - School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores 
      University,Liverpool,UK.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Meta-Analysis
DEP - 20160311
PL  - England
TA  - Psychol Med
JT  - Psychological medicine
JID - 1254142
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Case-Control Studies
MH  - Drug Users/*psychology
MH  - *Executive Function
MH  - Humans
MH  - Inhibition, Psychological
MH  - Memory, Long-Term
MH  - *N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
MH  - Neuropsychological Tests
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*psychology
MH  - Task Performance and Analysis
PMC - PMC4873937
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - 3
OT  - 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
OT  - Ecstasy
OT  - executive function
OT  - meta-analyses
EDAT- 2016/03/12 06:00
MHDA- 2017/11/29 06:00
PMCR- 2016/05/20
CRDT- 2016/03/12 06:00
PHST- 2016/03/12 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2016/03/12 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2017/11/29 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2016/05/20 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - S0033291716000258 [pii]
AID - 00025 [pii]
AID - 10.1017/S0033291716000258 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Psychol Med. 2016 Jun;46(8):1581-96. doi: 10.1017/S0033291716000258. Epub 2016 
      Mar 11.