The DOI matches its Crossref record; 54 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
MDMA enhances “mind reading” of positive emotions and impairs “mind reading” of negative emotions
Abstract
Rationale 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) increases sociability. The prosocial effects of MDMA may result from the release of the "social hormone" oxytocin and associated alterations in the processing of socioemotional stimuli.Materials and methods We investigated the effects of MDMA (125 mg) on the ability to infer the mental states of others from social cues of the eye region in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. The study included 48 healthy volunteers (24 men, 24 women) and used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design. A choice reaction time test was used to exclude impairments in psychomotor function. We also measured circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels and subjective drug effects.Results MDMA differentially affected mind reading depending on the emotional valence of the stimuli. MDMA enhanced the accuracy of mental state decoding for positive stimuli (e.g., friendly), impaired mind reading for negative stimuli (e.g., hostile), and had no effect on mind reading for neutral stimuli (e.g., reflective). MDMA did not affect psychomotor performance, increased circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels, and produced subjective prosocial effects, including feelings of being more open, talkative, and closer to others.Conclusions The shift in the ability to correctly read socioemotional information toward stimuli associated with positive emotional valence, together with the prosocial feelings elicited by MDMA, may enhance social approach behavior and sociability when MDMA is used recreationally and facilitate therapeutic relationships in MDMA-assisted psychotherapeutic settings.
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“However, a third study reported that MDMA (125 mg) increased the recognition of positive and decreased the identification of negative emotions (54).”
From Modulation of Social Cognition via Hallucinogens and “Entactogens” (2019) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“In one study, MDMA decreased the decoding of negative emotions from the eye region, while at the same time increasing this ability for positive stimuli (54).”
From Modulation of Social Cognition via Hallucinogens and “Entactogens” (2019) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“A further study showed that neither duloxetine, which inhibits MDMA-induced monoamine transporter-dependent serotonin and norepinephrine release, reboxetine, which inhibits MDMA-induced norepinephrine release, nor clonidine, which inhibits MDMA-induced transporter-independent vesicular release of norepinephrine, blocked the observed increases in decoding accuracy for positive and impaired decoding”
From Modulation of Social Cognition via Hallucinogens and “Entactogens” (2019) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“However, duloxetine was most effective in reducing the acute subjective MDMA effects, implicating the serotonin system as a key mechanism of action (54).”
From Modulation of Social Cognition via Hallucinogens and “Entactogens” (2019) · cites this paper as [54]
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“MDMA also promotes release of the neurohormone oxytocin (OT) (Dumont et al. 2009; Hysek et al. 2012; Kirkpatrick et al. 2014; Kuypers et al. 2017).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Hysek, C. M., Domes, G., & Liechti, M. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Basel (CH)
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Liechti, Matthias E.
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2012-01-27
- Volume
- 222
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 293-302
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- OpenAlex
- W2000881947
- Cited by
- 144
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 17.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- FreiDok plus (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- MDMA, ecstasy, theory of mind, emotion recognition, positive emotions, negative emotions, emotional valence, oxytocin, cortisol, prosocial behavior, sociability, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Double-Blind Method, Emotions, Empathy, Eye, Facial Expression, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Oxytocin, Prospective Studies, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, Young Adult
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