Social Cognition and Interaction in Chronic Users of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy").

ABSTRACT:

Background

The empathogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is the prototypical prosocial club drug inducing emotional openness to others. It has recently been shown that acutely applied 3,4-MDMA in fact enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior, while it simultaneously decreases cognitive empathy. However, the long-term effects of 3,4-MDMA use on socio-cognitive functions and social interactions have not been investigated yet. Therefore, we examined emotional and cognitive empathy, social decision-making, and oxytocin plasma levels in chronic 3,4-MDMA users.

Methods

We tested 38 regular but recently abstinent 3,4-MDMA users and 56 3,4-MDMA-naïve controls with the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition, the Multifaceted Empathy Test, and the Distribution

SUBMITTER: Wunderli MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5888715 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature