Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20947066›Full record

Trial reportBiological psychiatry2010

Is ecstasy an "empathogen"? Effects of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on prosocial feelings and identification of emotional states in others.

Gillinder Bedi, David Hyman, Harriet de Wit

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Biological psychiatry, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
114citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

114 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  11. Detection of acute 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) effects across protocols using automated natural language processing.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020
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  12. Effects of MDMA on attention to positive social cues and pleasantness of affective touch.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2019
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  13. MDMA Increases Cooperation and Recruitment of Social Brain Areas When Playing Trustworthy Players in an Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2019
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  19. LSD Acutely Impairs Fear Recognition and Enhances Emotional Empathy and Sociality.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2016
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54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Gillinder BediDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. GB2326@columbia.edu
David Hyman
Harriet de Wit

Funding

Determinants of Drug Preference in Humans--Administrative SupplementR01DA002812 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI DE WIT, HARRIET · 1985 to 2024
$10.6M
NIDA NIH HHS DA02812NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA002812
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUsers of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), "ecstasy," report that the drug produces unusual psychological effects, including increased empathy and prosocial feelings. These "empathogenic" effects are cited as reasons for recreational ecstasy use and also form the basis for the proposed use of MDMA in psychotherapy. However, they have yet to be characterized in controlled studies. Here, we investigate effects of MDMA on an important social cognitive capacity, the identification of emotional expression in others, and on socially relevant mood states.

methodsOver four sessions, healthy ecstasy-using volunteers (n = 21) received MDMA (.75, 1.5 mg/kg), methamphetamine (METH) (20 mg), and placebo under double-blind, randomized conditions. They completed self-report ratings of relevant affective states and undertook tasks in which they identified emotions from images of faces, pictures of eyes, and vocal cues.

resultsMDMA (1.5 mg/kg) significantly increased ratings of feeling "loving" and "friendly", and MDMA (.75 mg/kg) increased "loneliness". Both MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) and METH increased "playfulness"; only METH increased "sociability". MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) robustly decreased accuracy of facial fear recognition relative to placebo.

conclusionsThe drug MDMA increased "empathogenic" feelings but reduced accurate identification of threat-related facial emotional signals in others, findings consistent with increased social approach behavior rather than empathy. This effect of MDMA on social cognition has implications for both recreational and therapeutic use. In recreational users, acute drug effects might alter social risk-taking while intoxicated. Socioemotional processing alterations such as those documented here might underlie possible psychotherapeutic benefits of this drug; further investigation of such mechanisms could inform treatment design to maximize active components of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAffectEmpathyFacial ExpressionFemaleHumansMaleMethamphetamineN-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetaminePhotic StimulationPsychomotor PerformanceSelf ReportMethamphetamineN-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine

Identifiers

PMID20947066
PMCPMC2997873

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.