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A long-term ecstasy-related change in visual perception

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An Erratum to this article was published on 19 June 2007

Abstract

Rationale

The present study provides the first evidence of the long-term consequences of ecstasy use on visual processes thought to reflect serotonergic functions in the occipital lobe. Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“ecstasy”) is known to cause lasting changes to the serotonin system in animals, and convergent evidence suggests that similar changes occur in human ecstasy users. Other research suggests that serotonin may be involved in lateral inhibition between orientation sensitive neurons in the occipital lobe, and that disruption to the serotonin system causes an increase in the magnitude of the tilt aftereffect illusion that is known depend on those neurons.

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to determine if ecstasy users have detectable changes in occipital lobe behavioural functioning, as revealed by the tilt aftereffect illusion.

Materials and methods

Thirty ecstasy users and 34 non-drug using controls were compared on the magnitude of the tilt aftereffect illusion following adaptation to stimuli oriented at 15 and 40° from vertical.

Results

Ecstasy users who had not used amphetamines for 115 days or more had a larger average tilt aftereffect than non-drug using controls after adaptation to 40° stimuli but not after adaptation to 15° stimuli. Additionally, there was no difference between non-drug using controls and ecstasy users who had used amphetamines within the last 61 days at either adaptation angle.

Conclusions

The results were consistent with the proposal that ecstasy-related damage to the serotonin system causes behavioural changes on tests of visual perception processes that are thought to reflect serotonergic functions in the occipital lobe.

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Acknowledgement

This study was aided by a grant to E.M. from the Faculties Research Grant Scheme of The Australian National University. J.B. was supported for part of the research by an Australian postgraduate award (APA). The experiments complied with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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  1. School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Building 39, Canberra, 0200, Australia

    John Brown, Mark Edwards, Elinor McKone & Jeff Ward

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  1. John Brown
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Correspondence to John Brown.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-0854-4

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Brown, J., Edwards, M., McKone, E. et al. A long-term ecstasy-related change in visual perception. Psychopharmacology 193, 437–446 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-0785-0

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