Premium
Repeated MDMA (“Ecstasy”) exposure in adolescent male rats alters temperature regulation, spontaneous motor activity, attention, and serotonin transporter binding
Author(s) -
Piper Brian J.,
Fraiman Joseph B.,
Meyer Jerrold S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.20085
Subject(s) - mdma , ecstasy , psychology , habituation , serotonin transporter , serotonin , microdialysis , dopamine , anesthesia , medicine , neuroscience , psychiatry , receptor
Previous research in our laboratory found that repeated exposure of adolescent rats to 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) impaired working memory and reduced anxiety. The present experiment extended these findings by investigating the physiological, behavioral, and neurotoxic effects of a modified MDMA treatment regimen. Male Sprague–Dawley rats received 5 mg/kg of MDMA hourly for a period of 4 hr on every fifth day from postnatal day 35–60. Acute effects of the MDMA treatment included hypothermia, serotonin syndrome behavior, and ejaculation. Body weight gain was attenuated by repeated drug administration. The animals completed anxiety and working memory tests beginning 4 days after the final MDMA dose. MDMA altered habituation to the open‐field, increased locomotor activity in the elevated plus‐maze, decreased attention in the novel object‐recognition test, and reduced serotonin transporter binding in the neocortex. These results indicate that repeated exposure to a relatively moderate MDMA dose during adolescence produces later changes in behavior and neurochemistry. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 47: 145–157, 2005.