Trial reportPsychoneuroendocrinology2014
Plasma oxytocin concentrations following MDMA or intranasal oxytocin in humans.
Trial report in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 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 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Acute effects of MDMA, MDA, lysine-MDMA, and lysine-MDA in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in healthy participants.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Acute effects of R-MDMA, S-MDMA, and racemic MDMA in a randomized double-blind cross-over trial in healthy participants.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- Oxytocin and the Role of Fluid Restriction in MDMA-Induced Hyponatremia: A Secondary Analysis of 4 Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Oxytocin modulates local topography of human functional connectome in healthy men at rest.Communications biology · 2021Trial
- 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
- Effects of MDMA on attention to positive social cues and pleasantness of affective touch.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.Psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Intranasal oxytocin dampens cue-elicited cigarette craving in daily smokers: a pilot study.Behavioural pharmacology · 2016Trial
- Effects of acute doses of prosocial drugs methamphetamine and alcohol on plasma oxytocin levels.Journal of clinical psychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Untangling Mephedrone-Induced Social Reward in Rats-The Involvement of Oxytocin and Vasopressin VGenes, brain, and behavior · 2026Article
- Subjective and neurocognitive profiling of clinical doses of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in healthy volunteers: implications for therapeutic use.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- The intersection between psychedelics and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Reevaluating risk and therapeutic potential.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- History, pharmacology and therapeutic mechanisms of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).British journal of pharmacology · 2026Review
- The psychedelic-peptide paradox: a hormetic hypothesis.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- The Oxytocin System and Implications for Oxytocin Deficiency in Hypothalamic-Pituitary Disease.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
- Review
- Design and methodology of the first open-label trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder: Considerations for a randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2024Article
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 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
MDMA (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 'ecstasy') is reportedly used recreationally because it increases feelings of sociability and interpersonal closeness. Prior work suggests that the pro-social effects of MDMA may be mediated by release of oxytocin. A direct examination of plasma levels of oxytocin after acute doses of oxytocin and MDMA, in the same individuals, would provide further evidence for the idea that MDMA produces its pro-social effects by increasing oxytocin. Fourteen healthy MDMA users participated in a 4-session, double-blind study in which they received oral MDMA (0.75 and 1.5mg/kg), intranasal oxytocin (20IU or 40IU), and placebo. Plasma oxytocin concentrations, as well as cardiovascular and subjective effects were assessed before and at several time points after drug administration. MDMA (1.5mg/kg only) increased plasma oxytocin levels to a mean peak of 83.7pg/ml at approximately 90-120min, compared to 18.6pg/ml after placebo. Intranasal oxytocin (40IU, but not 20IU) increased plasma oxytocin levels to 48.0pg/ml, 30-60min after nasal spray administration. MDMA dose-dependently increased heart rate, blood pressure, feelings of euphoria (e.g., 'High' and 'Like Drug'), and feelings of sociability, whereas oxytocin had no cardiovascular or subjective effects. The subjective and cardiovascular responses to MDMA were not related to plasma oxytocin levels, although the N was small for this analysis. Future studies examining the effects of oxytocin antagonists on responses to MDMA will help to determine the mechanism by which MDMA produces pro-social effects.
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.