Physiological The drug itself is a white powder, which is most commonly taken orally as a pill or a capsule. It can also be taken through injection, snorting, smoking and even as a suppository, though that is less frequent. The average dose taken is 120mg but street samples that were tested in researchers' laboratories showed a range from 16mg to 150mg. Once the pill or capsule is taken, it effects the level of seratonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages from one nerve cell to the other.
These messages are dropped off by one cell and picked up by another. Once the message has been delivered, these neurotransmitters are destroyed or sucked back into the cell that they came from, a process called re-uptake. Ecstasy disrupts the re-uptake of seratonin allowing the neurotransmitter carrying the message to remain in the gap between the cells and becomes amplified rather than being destroyed. However, regular usage of the drug will cause a decline in the level of seratonin, which can cause depression. Seratonin is a major chemical in the brain, which is self-regulated.