Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28551715›Full record

Trial reportPsychopharmacology2018

Direct comparison of the acute subjective, emotional, autonomic, and endocrine effects of MDMA, methylphenidate, and modafinil in healthy subjects.

Patrick C Dolder, Felix Müller, Yasmin Schmid, Stefan J Borgwardt, Matthias E Liechti

Open access · hybridAbstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
13.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

71 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Acute effects of MDMA and LSD co-administration in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in healthy participants.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. MDMA-induced changes in within-network connectivity contradict the specificity of these alterations for the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021
    Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Trial
  19. Trial
  20. Trial

11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Patrick C DolderDivision of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 55, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Felix MüllerDepartment of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Yasmin SchmidDivision of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 55, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Stefan J BorgwardtDepartment of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Matthias E LiechtiDivision of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 55, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland. matthias.liechti@usb.ch.
University of Basel · CHUniversity Hospital of Basel · CH

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 320030_170249Universität Basel no
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationale3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is used recreationally and investigated as an adjunct to psychotherapy. Methylphenidate and modafinil are psychostimulants that are used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, respectively, but they are also misused as cognitive enhancers. Little is known about differences in the acute effects of equally cardiostimulant doses of these stimulant-type substances compared directly within the same subjects.

methodsWe investigated the acute autonomic, subjective, endocrine, and emotional effects of single doses of MDMA (125 mg), methylphenidate (60 mg), modafinil (600 mg), and placebo in a double-blind, cross-over study in 24 healthy participants. Acute drug effects were tested using psychometric scales, the Facial Emotion Recognition Task (FERT), and the Sexual Arousal and Desire Inventory (SADI).

resultsAll active drugs produced comparable hemodynamic and adverse effects. MDMA produced greater increases in pupil dilation, subjective good drug effects, drug liking, happiness, trust, well-being, and alterations in consciousness than methylphenidate or modafinil. Only MDMA reduced subjective anxiety and impaired fear recognition and led to misclassifications of emotions as happy on the FERT. On the SADI, only MDMA produced sexual arousal-like effects. Only MDMA produced marked increases in cortisol, prolactin, and oxytocin. In contrast to MDMA, methylphenidate increased subjective anxiety, and methylphenidate and modafinil increased misclassifications of emotions as angry on the FERT. Modafinil had no significant subjective drug effects but significant sympathomimetic and adverse effects.

conclusionsMDMA induced subjective, emotional, sexual, and endocrine effects that were clearly distinct from those of methylphenidate and modafinil at the doses used.

Indexed as

AdultArousalAutonomic Nervous SystemCentral Nervous System StimulantsCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodEmotionsFacial RecognitionFemaleHallucinogensHealthy VolunteersHumansLibidoMaleMethylphenidateModafinilCentral Nervous System StimulantsHallucinogensMethylphenidateModafinilN-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamineEmotion recognitionMDMAMethylphenidateModafinilSexual arousal

Identifiers

PMID28551715
PMCPMC5813072
OpenAlexW2620385377

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.