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Memory-related hippocampal dysfunction in poly-drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users

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Abstract

Rationale

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is neurotoxic in animal studies and its use has been associated with cognitive impairments in humans.

Objective

To study hippocampal activation during the retrieval from episodic memory in polyvalent users of ecstasy.

Methods

Twelve polyvalent ecstasy users and twelve matched controls were examined by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they retrieved face-profession associations from episodic memory.

Results

Ecstasy users had a normal structural MRI scan without focal brain lesions or anatomical abnormalities. They exhibited equal retrieval accuracy during memory retrieval to that of the matched controls. Yet, their retrieval-related activity was lower and more spatially restricted in the left anterior hippocampus than that of the controls.

Conclusions

These results provide evidence for abnormal hippocampal functioning in MDMA users even at the presence of normal memory performance. This finding may be linked to MDMA-induced neurotoxicity and suggests that diminished hippocampal activation during memory retrieval might be a more sensitive or earlier index of MDMA-related neurotoxicity than neuropsychological performance.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grant to E. Gouzoulis-Mayfrank from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG GO 717/4-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Kerpener Strasse 62, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Jörg Daumann, Thomas Fischermann, Karsten Heekeren & Euphrosyne Gouzoulis-Mayfrank

  2. Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Katharina Henke

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Faculty of the University of Technology (RWTH), Aachen, Germany

    Armin Thron

Authors
  1. Jörg Daumann
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  2. Thomas Fischermann
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  3. Karsten Heekeren
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  4. Katharina Henke
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  5. Armin Thron
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  6. Euphrosyne Gouzoulis-Mayfrank
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Correspondence to Euphrosyne Gouzoulis-Mayfrank.

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Daumann, J., Fischermann, T., Heekeren, K. et al. Memory-related hippocampal dysfunction in poly-drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users. Psychopharmacology 180, 607–611 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2002-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2002-8

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