Am i missing some of the article, or does it just not give any hint at the outcome of the MRI?
I remember, years ago, seeing brain scans showing something like serotonin receptors before MDMA usage, and months after, and if i remember right, things hadn't gotten back to normal long after. Anyone know anything about the long term effects?
Here's what Alexander Shulgin[1] had to say[2] in response to a similar question on the subject:
Dear Dr. Shulgin:
Lately I've been hearing a lot of talk about how every
time you take ecstasy it does permanent damage to the
brain. I've also heard that ecstasy puts holes in the
brain. Are these statements true?
-- Road Dog
Dear Road Dog:
No, they are not. The "permanent brain damage" is based
totally on studies done with experimental animals, with
the findings extrapolated to encompass the human subject.
In a simple statement, there have been no studies in man
that have indicated brain damage.
The "holes in the brain" is an even more outrageous
deception. These popular holes are areas in brain scans
that appear less active in attracting radiolabelled agents
that are agonists for certain receptor site areas. The
pictures that are shown for comparison are not of the same
person with or without MDMA in them, but of different
people, one of whom has used a lot of ecstasy and the
other one without any such history. The quintessence of
this line of mythology is an article that appeared
recently in the Willamette Week. It not only assured the
reader that there were holes generated by serotonin loss,
but that they became flooded with dopamine (the default
neurotransmitter) and, being attacked by hydrogen
peroxide, produced rust.
Sorry, drug warriors. No damage, no holes, no rust.
-- Dr. Shulgin
I can also strongly recommend reading the information on MDMA (and other psychoactive substances) on erowid.org[3]
IIRC those were scans of primate brains. A more recent and comprehensive study conducted by Dr. John H. Halpern, Director of the Laboratory for Integrative Psychiatry in the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse at McLean Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School found no residual cognitive effects in humans.
"New Study Finds No Cognitive Impairment Among Ecstasy Users
[...] a team of researchers has conducted one of the largest studies ever undertaken to re-examine the cognitive effects of ecstasy, funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published in the journal Addiction."
Conclusion from the actual study (journal behind paywall):
"In a study designed to minimize limitations found in many prior investigations, we failed to demonstrate marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users. This finding contrasts with many previous findings—including our own—and emphasizes the need for continued caution in interpreting field studies of cognitive function in illicit ecstasy users."
I remember, years ago, seeing brain scans showing something like serotonin receptors before MDMA usage, and months after, and if i remember right, things hadn't gotten back to normal long after. Anyone know anything about the long term effects?