ArticlePsychopharmacology2014
MDMA alters emotional processing and facilitates positive social interaction.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03752918 (The Effects of MDMA on Prefrontal and Amygdala Activation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 52 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
The Effects of MDMA on Prefrontal and Amygdala Activation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- MDMA for the treatment of misophonia, a proposal.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the MDMA Model to Address Social Impairment in Autism.Current neuropharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- The empathogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, but not methamphetamine, increases feelings of global trust.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Trial
- Self-compassion mediates treatment effects in MDMA-assisted therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Trial
- Negative Affect Circuit Subtypes and Neural, Behavioral, and Affective Responses to MDMA: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- The 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine enhances early visual processing for salient socio-emotional stimuli.The European journal of neuroscience · 2024Trial
- MDMA enhances positive affective responses to social feedback.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Preliminary evidence for the importance of therapeutic alliance in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Trial
- Facial mimicry is not modulated by dopamine D2/3 and opioid receptor antagonism.Psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Detection of acute 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) effects across protocols using automated natural language processing.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Oxytocin receptor gene variations and socio-emotional effects of MDMA: A pooled analysis of controlled studies in healthy subjects.PloS one · 2018Trial
- LSD Acutely Impairs Fear Recognition and Enhances Emotional Empathy and Sociality.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- MDMA: a social drug in a social context.Psychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Case Report: Amplified psychoanalysis? Psychoanalysis, OCD and MDMA in a clinical case study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Psychedelics and Eating Disorders: Exploring the Therapeutic Potential for Anorexia Nervosa and Beyond.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- Psychedelics and Suicide-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Psychoanalytically informed MDMA-assisted therapy for pathological narcissism: a novel theoretical approach.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- MDMA as well as amphetamine and alcohol increase feelings of social closeness in healthy adults.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Methylenedioxymethamphetamine is a connectogen with empathogenic, entactogenic, and still further connective properties: It is time to reconcile "the great entactogen-empathogen debate".Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
background±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") produces "prosocial" effects, such as feelings of empathy and closeness, thought to be important to its abuse and its value in psychotherapy. However, it is not fully understood how MDMA alters basic emotional processes to produce these effects, or whether it produces corresponding changes in actual social behavior. Here, we examined how MDMA affects perceptions of and responses to emotional expressions, and tested its effects on behavior during a social interaction. We also examined whether MDMA's prosocial effects related to a measure of abuse liability.
methodsOver three sessions, 36 healthy volunteers with previous ecstasy use received MDMA (0.75, 1.5 mg/kg) and placebo under double-blind conditions. We measured (i) mood and cardiovascular effects, (ii) perception of and psychophysiological responses to emotional expressions, (iii) use of positive and negative words in a social interaction, and (iv) perceptions of an interaction partner. We then tested whether these effects predicted desire to take the drug again.
resultsMDMA slowed perception of angry expressions, increased psychophysiological responses to happy expressions, and increased positive word use and perceptions of partner empathy and regard in a social interaction. These effects were not strongly related to desire to take the drug again.
conclusionsMDMA alters basic emotional processes by slowing identification of negative emotions and increasing responses to positive emotions in others. Further, it positively affects behavior and perceptions during actual social interaction. These effects may contribute to the efficacy of MDMA in psychotherapy, but appear less closely related to its abuse potential.
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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.