ArticlePloS one2012
The effects of ecstasy (MDMA) on brain serotonin transporters are dependent on age-of-first exposure in recreational users and animals.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Glutathione as a Potential Neuroprotectant Against MDMA-Induced Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation, and Apoptosis in the Rat Brain.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Psychological and neuropsychological effects of MDMA use during adolescence: a structured review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in adolescents: rationale, potential, risks, and considerations.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Review
- Amitriptyline Accelerates SERT Binding Recovery in a Rat 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Model: In Vivo 4-[International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Use and abuse of dissociative and psychedelic drugs in adolescence.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2021Review
- Consequences of adolescent use of alcohol and other drugs: Studies using rodent models.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2016Review
- The effects of ecstasy on neurotransmitter systems: a review on the findings of molecular imaging studies.Psychopharmacology · 2016Review
- Genetic and early environmental influences on the serotonin system: consequences for brain development and risk for psychopathology.Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN · 2015Review
- Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging reveals differential long-term neuroadaptation after methamphetamine and the substituted cathinone 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone).The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
RATIONALE AND
objectiveLittle is known on the effects of ecstasy (MDMA, a potent 5-HT-releaser and neurotoxin) exposure on brain development in teenagers. The objective of this study was to investigate whether in humans, like previous observations made in animals, the effects of MDMA on the 5-HT system are dependent on age-of-first exposure.
methods5-HT transporter (SERT) densities in the frontal cortex and midbrain were assessed with [(123)I]β-CIT single photon emission computed tomography in 33 users of ecstasy. Subjects were stratified for early-exposed users (age-at-first exposure 14-18 years; developing brain), and late-exposed users (age-at-first exposure 18-36 years; mature brain). In parallel, we investigated the effects of age experimentally with MDMA in early-exposed (adolescent) rats and late-exposed (adult) rats using the same radioligand.
resultsOn average, five years after first exposure, we found a strong inverse relationship, wherein age-at-first exposure predicted 79% of the midbrain SERT variability in early (developing brain) exposed ecstasy users, whereas this was only 0.3% in late (mature brain) exposed users (p=0.007). No such effect was observed in the frontal cortex. In rats, a significant age-BY-treatment effect (p<0.01) was observed as well, however only in the frontal cortex.
conclusionsThese age-related effects most likely reflect differences in the maturational stage of the 5-HT projection fields at age-at-first exposure and enhanced outgrowth of the 5-HT system due to 5-HT's neurotrophic effects. Ultimately, our findings stress the need for more knowledge on the effects of pharmacotherapies that alter brain 5-HT levels in the pediatric population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.