Review Article
Harmful Effects of Recreational Ecstasy Use on Memory Functioning
Kaeli Zimmermann1 and Benjamin Becker2*1Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany
2Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, PR China
- Corresponding Author:
- Benjamin Becker, Proffessor
University of Electronic Science and Technology
Center for Information in Medicine, China
Tel: +86 2861 830 811
E-mail: ben_becker@gmx.de
Received date: date: Jan 18, 2016; Accepted date: date: Feb 10, 2016; Published date: date: Feb 17, 2016
Citation: Zimmermann K, Becker B (2016) Harmful Effects of Recreational Ecstasy Use on Memory Functioning. J Addict Res Ther 7:266. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000266
Copyright: © 2016 Zimmermann K, et al., This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), often referred to as ‘ecstasy’, has been shown to selectively and persistently impair central serotonergic neurotransmission in laboratory animals. As of recent, evidence in human studies has suggested a link between recreational ecstasy use and a disruption of the brain’s serotonergic system. However, human neurocognitive and neuroimaging studies have yielded inconsistent findings regarding the functional impact of these neuro-adaptations, possibly due to methodological difficulties. Although the literature on the effects of recreational ecstasy use on neurocognitive function remains inconclusive, studies have most consistently shown negative effects on memory. Here, we provide a review of accumulating evidence supporting a link between recreational ecstasy use and impaired memory.
