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 .
MDMA affects both error-rate dependent and independent aspects of decision-making in a two-choice prediction task
Decision-making , i.e. selecting an action from a number of alternatives when the outcome is uncertain , is a complex process that is important for everyday life . 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ) , also known as ‘ Ecstasy ’ , is a widely used recreational drug that is known to increase serotonin ( 5-HT ) and , to a lesser extent , dopamine ( DA ) in animals . This study examined whether MDMA alters decision-making in a way that depends on the degree of success and outcome . Forty-two normal , healthy volunteers were given placebo or 1.5mg/kg p.o . MDMA in a r and omized crossover design . Subjects completed the two-choice prediction task 120min after administration of the drug . Decision-making characteristics were obtained at 20 % error rate , 50 % error rate or 80 % error rate . MDMA affected decision-making via a process that is dependent on success or failure . Administration of MDMA increased the degree to which the previous response predicted the current response ( mutual information ) and the average response sequence predictability ( average dynamical entropy ) at low error rates . MDMA increased the degree to which the previous stimulus influenced the selection of the current response at 20 % , 50 % or 80 % error rate . MDMA did not significantly alter basic response characteristics such as response latency or switching . Self- assessment of the psychological state induced by MDMA did not predict the MDMA induced decision-making patterns . These results support the hypothesis that acute administration of MDMA affects success-related response selection during decision-making
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 .