ArticlePsychopharmacology2017
Inhibition of serotonin transporters disrupts the enhancement of fear memory extinction by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
53 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of SSRIs on fear learning: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- MDMA and memory, addiction, and depression: dose-effect analysis.Psychopharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- MDMA for the treatment of misophonia, a proposal.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- A randomized controlled trial of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and fear extinction retention in healthy adults.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2022Trial
- MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and other psychological distress related to life-threatening illnesses: a randomized pilot study.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Long-term follow-up outcomes of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: a longitudinal pooled analysis of six phase 2 trials.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- αMolecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- A living systematic review, meta-analysis, and open data resource of trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- MDMA alters fear extinction, and reduces alcohol consumption in inbred alcohol preferring iP rats but not outbred Wistar rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- History, pharmacology and therapeutic mechanisms of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).British journal of pharmacology · 2026Review
- The helioscope effect: A new framework for evaluating trauma-related memory processing in psychedelic experiences.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Methylone promotes neurite outgrowth and has long-lasting effects on fear extinction learning.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Pharmacological Evaluation of Tropane Analogues at the Serotonin Transporter.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Psychedelic Drugs in Mental Disorders: Current Clinical Scope and Deep Learning-Based Advanced Perspectives.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- The METEMP protocol: Massed exposure therapy enhanced with MDMA for PTSD.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- A biopsychosocial model of MDMA-assisted therapy in application: Dyadic One Session Treatment for specific phobia.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The effects of spaced versus massed extinction training on extinction retention of conditioned fear learning in male rats.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- Review
- MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in adolescents: rationale, potential, risks, and considerations.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Review
- Psilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction: Importance of Dose, Context, and Serotonin Receptors.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationale3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) persistently improves symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when combined with psychotherapy. Studies in rodents suggest that these effects can be attributed to enhancement of fear memory extinction. Therefore, MDMA may improve the effects of exposure-based therapy for PTSD, particularly in treatment-resistant patients. However, given MDMA's broad pharmacological profile, further investigation is warranted before moving to a complex clinical population.
objectivesWe aimed to inform clinical research by providing a translational model of MDMA's effect, and elucidating monoaminergic mechanisms through which MDMA enhances fear extinction.
methodsWe explored the importance of monoamine transporters targeted by MDMA to fear memory extinction, as measured by reductions in conditioned freezing and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) in mice. Mice were treated with selective inhibitors of individual monoamine transporters prior to combined MDMA treatment and fear extinction training.
resultsMDMA enhanced the lasting extinction of FPS. Acute and chronic treatment with a 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) inhibitor blocked MDMA's effect on fear memory extinction. Acute inhibition of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) transporters had no effect. 5-HT release alone did not enhance extinction. Blockade of MDMA's effect by 5-HTT inhibition also downregulated 5-HT
conclusionsWe validate enhancement of fear memory extinction by MDMA in a translational behavioral model, and reveal the importance of 5-HTT and 5-HT
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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.