A description of all the limitations of the radioglandins used in the studies presented in this paper.ReferencesDoes 3, 4 – Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) decrease the levelof serotonin in the brain?A Positional Argument for the Scientific CommunityRegina CondeFall 2005There is much controversy surrounding the question of whether or not to use 3, 4 – Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) as a pharmaceutical drug. The reason for this is that the full effects of MDMA are not yet known. Determining the full effects of MDMA is significant, for the reasons that it could have profound effects on medicine. If the alleged risks are found to be false or minimal we can use it pharmaceutically. Ecstasy is a phenylethylamine that is similar in chemical structure to both amphetamine and mescaline. It was synthesized in 1912 and patented by the Merck Company in Germany in 1914. Alexander Shulgin then rediscovered MDMA in 1960. He reported that MDMA “produced an easily controlled altered state of consciousness with emotional overtones and suggested it might be useful as an adjunct in insight oriented psychotherapy” (Vollenweider et al. 1998). However, in the 1980s the drug became increasingly abused and there were reports of its possible neurotoxicity, which caused it to be classified a schedule 1 drug in 1985 (Gill et al. 2002). There are still ongoing trials to determine its full psychotherapeutic effect. It is possible that it could have tremendous healing effects on trauma victims. It has been suggested that the drug allows the victims to become more open with their experiences so that they may overcome the trauma inflicted upon them. 1Researchers have come to the conclusion that MDMA affects “mood improvement, closeness, sensual and perceptual enhancement, gained insight and general activation hence influencing their emotions and behavior,” (Gerra et al. 2000). For these reasons MDMA is thought to have a psychotherapeutic treatment effect. This type of reaction would enable a psychiatrist to have a more productive session, because the patients would be able to address subjects of trauma that they normally could not tolerate to speak of otherwise. In Vollenweider et al. (1998) study the type of reactions subjects elicited when treated with MDMA are outlined. These types of reactions would be useful in psychotherapeutic environments. Vollenweider et al. measured the psychological states of their subjects using the Altered States of Consciousness (APZ-OAV) rating scale and Adjecting mood rating scale (EWL). In this double blind placebo – controlled the subjects were tested at monthly intervals and given 1.7mg/kg doses of MDMA. The mood of the subjects was evaluated using EWL and APZ-OAV upon their arrival, which established a baseline. Then there reactions were evaluated 75 minutes after placebo or MDMA intake. The patients also fasted prior to this experiment. The EWL has six scales; efficiency, inactivation, extroversion-introversion, feelings of well-being, emotional excitability and anxiety. In this study all of these factors were increased in the MDMA experimental group. However, the anxiety variable had two factors. The state anxiety increased as a result of increased thoughtfulness-contemplativeness scale. The apprehension-anxiety and dejection subscales were not significantly changed. The APZ-OAV measures shifts in mood, thought disorder and change in the experience of the self/ego and of the environment in drug and non-drug 2altered states of consciousness (ASC). These variables were also found to be significantly altered from the effects of MDMA. The change in mood had the most profound effect. They found that the level of depersonalization and derealization were altered in relation to mood. These effects caused the subjects to have a general positive nature with increased responsiveness to emotion, a heightened openness and sense of closeness to other people. Because of the effects observed in this experiment, MDMA psychological medical advances are thought to be possible in the psychotherapeutic field.If subjects are able to feel more open and confident then they can overcome issues that impact their mental wellness negatively. This review is based on eight studies and three reviews that have evaluated the effects of MDMA on the serotonin neurons of the brain. The body of research is current, conducted over the past eight years. The research question of these articles focuses on whether or not there are degradation effects on the serotonin neurons specifically decreases in brain serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HT), and the density of the serotonin transporters, as a result of MDMA use. There are a variety of research designs that have been conducted. The few studies evaluated in this review used either previous users or current users of MDMA as subjects for their experimental group. For their control group they used ex-users or subjects who had never been exposed to MDMA. The effects on the serotonin neuroreceptors were evaluated by injecting the subjects with radioglandins and then measuring the affinity with which they bound to a specific portionof the serotonin neuron, the seretonin transporter (SERT). The researchers used either positron emission tomography (PET) or single – photon – emission computed tomography (SPECT) to measure the efficiency with which the radioglandins bound to 3the serotonin receptors of the neuron. All the experiments found that MDMA does decrease the serotonin levels of the brain. However, there are severe methodology flaws within their experiments, which make their findings unreliable. For this reasons, I believe that we cannot determine that ecstasy does cause a decrease in the serotonin levels of neurons in the brain. Therefore, the unresolved issue is whether or not MDMA causes a decrease in the levels of 5-HTof serotonin neurons of the brain. As of today the data is inconclusive and problematic, hence I conclude that MDMA does not decrease theneuron serotonin levels of the brain. An ideal study to test the effects of MDMA would be a double-blind study conducted on subjects who had never used any drug. Both the control and experimental group would consist of non-drug users. Each subject would have an in depth psychiatric evaluation to determine his or her level of mental wellness and anyone questionable would be disqualified. There would also be