Thus , the current state of research does not allow for the conclusion that long-term use of MDMA affects decision-making behavior in general .
Different cognitive impairments have been reported as a result of long-term MDMA/ecstasy use .
Increased impulsivity and altered decision-making have been shown to be associated with the development and maintenance of addictive disorders pointing toward the necessity to underst and a potential impairment of decision-making due to MDMA use .
Thus , assessing the long-term effects of MDMA is crucial in order to evaluate its controversially discussed therapeutic use .
The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the scientific literature on potential effects of chronic MDMA use on higher order decision-making processes in humans .
Prospective memory, everyday cognitive failure and central executive function in recreational users of Ecstasy.
Chronic use of MDMA ( 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ) , or Ecstasy , is believed to lead to impaired psychological performance , including well-documented decrements in laboratory and field tests of retrospective memory . Less is known about the impact of Ecstasy on aspects of ' everyday ' memory , despite obvious concerns about such effects . The three studies reported here focused on the impact of chronic Ecstasy use on prospect i ve memory ( PM ) , associated central executive function and other aspects of day-to-day cognition . In study 1 46 regular Ecstasy users were compared with 46 Ecstasy-free controls  using the  Prospect i ve Memory Question naire ( PMQ ) . Ecstasy users reported significantly more errors in PM ( remembering to do something in the future ) ; these findings persisted after controlling for other drug use and the number of strategies used to aid memory . No difference was found between representative subgroups on the Lies Scale of the Eysenck Personality Question naire . In study 2 a different group of 30 regular Ecstasy users and 37 Ecstasy-free controls was assessed on the PMQ and on a central executive task comprising verbal fluency measures . The results confirmed the significant impairments in long- and short-term PM and revealed corresponding impairments in verbal fluency . In study 3 15 Ecstasy users , 15 cannabis users and 15 non-drug users were assessed using the  Cognitive Failures Question  naire , which requires participants to provide ratings of the frequency of various day-to-day cognitive slips . The results indicate that the Ecstasy users did not perceive their general cognitive performance to be worse than that of controls . Taken together , these results suggest that Ecstasy users have impaired PM that can not be explained by an increased propensity to exaggerate cognitive failures . These may be attributable , in part , to central executive deficits that are due to frontal lobe damage associated with Ecstasy use . Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons ,
Thus , the current state of research does not allow for the conclusion that long-term use of MDMA affects decision-making behavior in general .
Different cognitive impairments have been reported as a result of long-term MDMA/ecstasy use .
Increased impulsivity and altered decision-making have been shown to be associated with the development and maintenance of addictive disorders pointing toward the necessity to underst and a potential impairment of decision-making due to MDMA use .
Thus , assessing the long-term effects of MDMA is crucial in order to evaluate its controversially discussed therapeutic use .
The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the scientific literature on potential effects of chronic MDMA use on higher order decision-making processes in humans .