Articles Analysis Essay on Methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Article 1: Evidence for chronically altered cortical serotonin function inhuman female recreational ecstasy (MDMA) polydrug users by Di Iorio and Collegues

Research Methods Used

The participants in the study were 25 females between the age of 18 and 25; 10 non-MDMA controls and 15 MDMA users. The participants were required to complete [18F] setoperone PET scans to assess their cortical 5-HT2A receptor status. Between Group analysis and Within Group analysis were conducted. Between Group analysis involved testing the 25 participants with a general linear modeling analysis to determine other medicines or substances being used. A MATLAB script facilitated the extraction of mean 5-HT2ABPND to determine the between group differences, which would be analyzed using SPSS. The Within Group analysis involved the determination of the effect of dose-dependent of MDMA on MDMA on the 5-HT axon loss. The human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed that there were effects on brain activation. Key Variables in the Hypothesis

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The hypothesis of the study was the determination of the MDMA that was associated with the decline in serotonin signaling of cerebral cortex in females as shown by the increase in 5-HT2A receptors. The between groups analysis showed that there was an increase of the 5-HT2ABPND among MDMA users in five cortical clusters found in the occipital-parietal, temporal, occipito-temporal-parietal, frontal, and fronto-parietal areas (Di Iorio, Watkins, Dietrich, Cao, & Cowan, 2012). The Within Group analysis showed that the receptor binding among lifetime users was in the Four cortical clusters found in frontal areas, fronto-parietal, fronto-limbic, and occipito-temporal, an indication that abstaining from MDMA did not reduce the increase of 5-HT2ABPND.

How the Hypothesis was Supported or Not

From the hypothesis, as a recreational drug, MDMA leads to loss of serotonin (5-HT) axons, which shows chronic decline in 5-HT signaling. 5-HT2A receptors levels were compared between users and naive to assess the long-term use of MDMA and 5-HT2A. The participants would abstain for at least 90 days and the 5-HT2A- PET was used to assess 5-HT2A receptors. The findings from the research showed that the abuse of MDMA contributes to an increase in 5-HT2A receptor density for a long time. As such, ecstasy facilitates chronic 5-HT neurotoxicity in human beings.

Whether the Study was Conducted Safely and Ethically

The study was not only conducted ethically and safely, but also professionally. Flyers, local media advertisement, and word of mouth were used to recruit the subjects. To qualify for inclusion, the subjects were required to be users of MDMA, marijuana or other such drugs. Screening was done to determine those proceeding to the next stage and they were compensated for participating. Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board approved the study and the researchers adhered to World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki standards (Di Iorio, Watkins, Dietrich, Cao, & Cowan, 2012).

Article 2: Effects of MDMA on olfactory memory and reversal learning in rats by Andrew Hawkey, L. Brooke April, and Mark Galizio

Research Method Used

The study involved six male Sprague-Dawley (Harlan) rats as the subjects. The ages of the subjects were within the range of 90 and 150 days. The rats were separately housed under conducive temperature and humidity in a home cage. Water was accessible throughout but food was restricted to maintain each subject at a free feeding weight of 85 percent (Hawkey, April, & Galizio, 2014). The initial training of the subjects involved subjecting the rats to a test of five sessions a week. The rats first consumed sugar pellets from cups after which plastic lids were used to cover the cups completely so that the rats could remove the lids to access the sugar pallets. Odor span training was then initiated. The first trial involved the use of a single olfactory stimulus whose removal allowed access to the sugar pallets in the cups. The second trial involved the first odor and a novel odor while the third trial involved presenting the first two as a new odor. The removal of a lid was a correct response while a correct response was the removal of a novel odor as the first lid.

Key Variables in the Hypothesis

The hypothesis of the study was to investigate how reversal learning and olfactory memory in rats were affected by MDMA. The tests showed that both sub-chronic and acute ecstasy led to impairments of the odor span test (OTS) performance. Task disruption pattern showed that the observed effects were primarily resulted from non-mnemonic processes and not specific memory functions. The discrimination reverse led to a substantial decline in the correct percent of both saline and MDMA treated subjects. Between groups differences showed that the relationship between testing day and response accuracy was influenced by drug condition.

How the Hypothesis was Supported or Not

The hypothesis by the authors suggested that ecstasy had negative effects on reversal learning and olfactory memory in rats. This implied that sub-chronic and acute ecstasy would lead to impairments of the odor span test (OTS) performance (Hawkey, April, & Galizio, 2014). The research results showed that sub-chronic and acute ecstasy led to impairments of the odor span test (OTS) performance, but the observed effects were mainly influenced by non- mnemonic processes and not the specific memory functions.

Whether the Study was Conducted Safely and Ethically

The research was conducted ethically and safely by the authors. First, while housing the subjects individually, the researchers ensured that there was an access to adequate water and food. Second, due care was exercised to ensure that that none of the subjects was injured or harmed during the experiments. For the drug to be administered, the subjects were required to meet a stability criterion through the OST and SD task. The authors also used a procedure that is widely used in the medical field, that is, the OST procedure, which is widely used in behavioral pharmacology (Hawkey, April, & Galizio, 2014).

Article 3: Brain Serotonin Function in MDMA (Ecstasy) Users: Evidence for Persisting Neurotoxicity by Suzanne N Haber and Sarah R Heilbronner.

Research Method Used

The authors examined neocortical serotonin-2A receptor in female users of MDMA with a median abstinence of two years. Catterplots were used to represent the non-parametric distribution of lifetime MDMA use. To calculate the rank of lifetime use, the number of use episodes was multiplied by the average use per episode. To determine ranks, SPSS, which involved the use of the rank function, was, used (Benningfield & Cowan, 2013).

Key Variables in the Hypothesis

The hypothesis of the study was that MDMA-induced reductions in serotonin would facilitate increased serotonin-2A receptors in MDMA users, and lifetime MDMA use was positively related to receptor level. Lifetime use of MDMA is positively related to the potential of serotonin-2A-binding in user after adjusting for various reasons.

How the Hypothesis was Supported or Not

The authors' hypothesis suggested that serotonin-2A receptors are increased by MDMA-induced reductions in serotonin. The research findings show that a reduction in serotonin signaling among MDMA users affects reduced reductions of MDMA in serotonin on cortical neurophysiology. To support the hypothesis, it was found that a high use of MDMA contributes to increased occipital activation at the time of visual stimulation in users contributing to increase in cortical excitability, which is among the effects of a decline in serotonin signaling (Benningfield & Cowan, 2013).

Whether the Study was Conducted Safely and Ethically

The research was conducted ethically, professionally, and safely. Although information was borrowed from the research by Di Lorio et al, the source of the information was acknowledged. Care was taken when examining the condition of participants' neocortical serotonin-2A receptors.

Most Appropriate Research Methods

The research methods employed in Evidence for chronically altered cortical serotonin function inhuman female recreational ecstasy (MDMA) polydrug users by Di Iorio and Collegues would be the most appropriate. The article is the most approriate to future study the topic of Neurobiology of Ecstasy (MDMA) Abuse. The subjects used in the study are current users of MDMA or other drugs, facilitating the determination of the effect of MDMA on cortical serotonin function. The subjects were also required to be mentally fit for the study. The research helps to understand the functioning of the brain at different levels of ecstasy use and the effects of withdrawal.

References

Benningfield, M. M., & Cowan, R. L. (2013). Brain Serotonin Function in MDMA (Ecstasy) Users: Evidence for Persisting Neurotoxicity. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, 38(1), 252-253.

Di Iorio, C. R., Watkins, T. J., Dietrich, M. S., Cao, A., & Cowan, R. L. (2012). Evidence for chronically altered cortical serotonin function inhuman female recreational ecstasy (MDMA) polydrug users. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 69(4), 399-409.

Hawkey, A., April, L. B., & Galizio, M. (2014). Effects of MDMA on olfactory memory and reversal learning in rats. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 114, 209-216.