PubMed · 15372137
Memory-related hippocampal dysfunction in poly-drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users.
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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Jörg Daumann, Thomas Fischermann, Karsten Heekeren, Katharina Henke, Armin Thron, Euphrosyne Gouzoulis-Mayfrank. 2005-09-14. Memory-related hippocampal dysfunction in poly-drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2002-8
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