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 .
Dissociable Deficits in the Decision-Making Cognition of Chronic Amphetamine Abusers, Opiate Abusers, Patients with Focal Damage to Prefrontal Cortex, and Tryptophan-Depleted Normal Volunteers: Evidence for Monoaminergic Mechanisms
We used a novel computerized decision-making task to compare the decision-making behavior of chronic amphetamine abusers , chronic opiate abusers , and patients with focal lesions of orbital prefrontal cortex ( PFC ) or dorsolateral/medial PFC . We also assessed the effects of reducing central 5-hydroxytryptamine ( 5-HT ) activity using a tryptophan-depleting amino acid drink in normal volunteers . Chronic amphetamine abusers showed sub-optimal decisions ( correlated with years of abuse ) , and deliberated for significantly longer before making their choices . The opiate abusers exhibited only the second of these behavioral changes . Importantly , both sub-optimal choices and increased deliberation times were evident in the patients with damage to orbitofrontal PFC but not other sectors of PFC . Qualitatively , the performance of the subjects with lowered plasma tryptophan was similar to that associated with amphetamine abuse , consistent with recent reports of depleted 5-HT in the orbital regions of PFC of methamphetamine abusers . Overall , these data suggest that chronic amphetamine abusers show similar decision-making deficits to those seen after focal damage to orbitofrontal PFC . These deficits may reflect altered neuromodulation of the orbitofrontal PFC and interconnected limbic-striatal systems by both the ascending 5-HT and mesocortical dopamine ( DA ) projections
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 .