The psychobiology of MDMA or 'ecstasy': Symposium arranged by the Psychobiology Section, at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, April 1997

1. Recreational use of ’ecstasy’: the drug user’s perspective Nicholas Saunders, Neal’s Yard Desktop Publishing, London WC2H 9DP, UK. Although ’ecstasy’ m this country is associated with young people and the rave/dance scene, it is also valued by psychotherapists, seekers of spirituality and people involved with ’personal development’. A study of the psychological effects of ’ecstasy’ was made by questioning psychiatrists while they were under the influence of the drug (Liester et al., 1992). The main benefits reported were ’increased ability to interact or be open with others, decreased defensiveness and fear and decreased sense of separation or alienation from others’. Studies of female participants in the dance scene include the papers of Henderson (1992, 1993) based on interviews with women ravers in the north of England. They revealed that a key motivation was the freedom to enjoy warmth, closeness and even physical contact with strangers of both sexes without this being a prelude to sex. This was valued as liberation from the sexual pressure experienced at alcohol-based clubs. ’The atmosphere of the rave inspires confidence and independence, for instance it is common for women to mix outside their social group of friends. This has provided a way for young women to rise above being a visual/sexual object. ’ Russell Newcombe’s (1994) paper identified the aim as the desire to partake in an altered state of group consciousness. This was greatly valued and not attainable without the use of drugs and dancing for long periods to music with a repetitive beat. Newcombe compares rave culture to trance dancing at tribal celebrations. ’Raving can also be viewed as a transcendental mind altering experience providing psychic relief to alienated people in a secular repressive and materialistic society. Ecstasy and other drugs are the keys that unlock the doors to these desired states of consciousness . To describe the rave as a mass illusion is not to decry its value . It is a deeply desired escape from the constraints of the self and normal behaviour, just as holidays provide an accepted form of relief. Indeed the ecstatic state achieved by ravers is arguably an expression of a primeval urge for group revelry. ’ The group feelings of uplift induced by dancing on ’ecstasy’ have been compared to spiritual experiences, and the rave has also been compared to a religious service in several papers including Saunders (1995). ’Last year I took a 70 year-old Zen monk to a rave party. He was curious enough to overcome his dislike of the music until his face lit up with a revelation. &dquo;This is meditation! &dquo;, he shouted above the noise. Later he explained that the walking meditation he taught involved being fully aware &dquo;in the moment&dquo; without any internal dialogue separating actions from intentions, and that the same definition applied to the dancers all around him. ’ These reports show examples of the use of ’ecstasy’ to facilitate social intercourse, to be liberated from sexual pressure, to escape from social constraints and to fulfil spiritual needs. Why does our society impose restraints on such apparently healthy behaviour to the extent that a drug is required to overcome them? References Henderson S (1992) Luvdup and deElited. Paper presented at South Bank Polytechnic, May 1992 Henderson S (1993) Women, sexuality and ecstasy use-the final report. Lifeline, Manchester Liester M, Grob C, Bravo G L, Walsh R N (1992) Phenomenology and sequelae of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine use. J Nerv Ment Dis 180: 345-352 Newcombe R (1992) The use of ecstasy and dance drugs at rave parties and clubs: some problems and solutions. Paper presented at a symposium in Leeds, November 1992 Saunders N (1995) Face to faith. The Guardian: 29 July 1995 Abstract 2. The shortand long-term physiological effects of MDMA: animal studies of neurotoxicity D. Dafters, Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8RT, UK. 3.4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ’ecstasy’,2. The shortand long-term physiological effects of MDMA: animal studies of neurotoxicity D. Dafters, Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8RT, UK. 3.4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ’ecstasy’, a ring-substituted amphetamine with psychoactive properties, is now a major drug of abuse with an estimated 500 000 young people using the drug weekly in Britain, according to a poll commissioned by the BBC in 1993. The drug is taken primarily as an adjunct to all night dances or ’raves’ and has caused concern over its proven ability to cause occasional death or serious health problems in humans, and clear evidence of its long-term neurotoxicity to central serotonergic (5-HT) neurons in animals. However, the mechanisms of MDMA’s toxicity is still poorly understood, as is the relationship between the acute toxic effects of the drug, such as hyperthermia and the longer-term neurotoxic effects, some of the animal research which has addressed these issues is surveyed. Although MDMA was used quite extensively prior to the mid-1980s as a recreational drug, and even occasionally as an adjunct to psychotherapy, reports of adverse effects really only started to appear once it began to be used extensively by young people at raves or all-night dance clubs. The primary acute problem is usually attributed to the rapid body temperature elevation induced by the drug in this situation (hyperthermia) and its subsequent effects on the liver, brain and cardiovascular systems. It was the intriguing interaction between the pharmacological effect of the drug and the environmental conditions in which it was administered which prompted our