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Effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on socioemotional feelings, authenticity, and autobiographical disclosure in healthy volunteers in a controlled setting

Open access
Baggott, Matthew J, Coyle, Jeremy R, Siegrist, Jennifer D, Garrison, Kathleen J, Galloway, Gantt P, Mendelson, John E·2016·Journal of Psychopharmacology
DOI 10.1177/0269881115626348

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Abstract

The drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy", "molly") is a widely used illicit drug and experimental adjunct to psychotherapy. MDMA has unusual, poorly understood socioemotional effects, including feelings of interpersonal closeness and sociability. To better understand these effects, we conducted a small (n=12) within-subjects double-blind placebo controlled study of the effects of 1.5 mg/kg oral MDMA on social emotions and autobiographical disclosure in a controlled setting. MDMA displayed both sedative- and stimulant-like effects, including increased self-report anxiety. At the same time, MDMA positively altered evaluation of the self (i.e. increasing feelings of authenticity) while decreasing concerns about negative evaluation by others (i.e. decreasing social anxiety). Consistent with these feelings, MDMA increased how comfortable participants felt describing emotional memories. Overall, MDMA produced a prosocial syndrome that seemed to facilitate emotional disclosure and that appears consistent with the suggestion that it represents a novel pharmacological class.

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  • MDMA improves psychological flexibility, reduces fear of negative evaluation, and enhances self-reflection.

    “MDMA has been shown to improve psychological flexibility, reduce fear of negative evaluation, and enhance self-reflection (89, 134–136).”

    From Psychoanalytically informed MDMA-assisted therapy for pathological narcissism: a novel theoretical approach (2025) · cites this paper as [136]

    The paper reports that MDMA reduced concern about negative evaluation in healthy volunteers, supporting that part of the claim. It also found greater feelings of authenticity and comfort discussing emotional memories, but did not establish improved psychological flexibility. In the Results and discussion (page unavailable), the authors say they could not confirm greater insight or understanding of memories, so enhanced self-reflection is not established either. (LLM, conf=0.92)

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  • MDMA facilitates authentic emotional disclosure and self-reflection, enabling patients to engage more deeply in therapy.

    “By facilitating authentic emotional disclosure and self-reflection, MDMA enables patients to engage more deeply in therapy (136).”

    From Psychoanalytically informed MDMA-assisted therapy for pathological narcissism: a novel theoretical approach (2025) · cites this paper as [136]

    The Abstract and Results report increased feelings of authenticity and greater comfort discussing emotional memories after MDMA. But the paper says it could not confirm greater insight or understanding of those memories, and its suggestion that MDMA could aid psychotherapy was not tested in patients. The claim overstates the evidence for self-reflection and deeper engagement in therapy. (LLM, conf=0.89)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Psychedelic-assisted therapy has been shown to enhance perceptions and ability to find meaning in one's life and lead to positive alterations of the self, despite being artificially induced.

    “Psychedelic-assisted therapy has been shown to enhance perceptions and ability to find meaning in one's life (Smith and Sisti 2020), while leading to positive alterations of the self (Baggott et al. 2016), despite being artificially induced.”

    From Authenticity and Love Drugs: Insights from Psychedelic Therapy (2026) · cites this paper as Baggott et al. 2016

    The Abstract reports that MDMA positively altered participants’ evaluation of themselves by increasing feelings of authenticity. But the study tested MDMA in healthy volunteers in a controlled setting, not psychedelic-assisted therapy; it therefore does not establish that therapy leads to those changes. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • MDMA facilitates emotional disclosure and increases comfort in discussing personal feelings.

    “MDMA also facilitates emotional disclosure and increases comfort in discussing personal feelings (136, 137), which could be particularly important for narcissists with alexithymia, who struggle to identify and express their emotions.”

    From Psychoanalytically informed MDMA-assisted therapy for pathological narcissism: a novel theoretical approach (2025) · cites this paper as [136]

  • Research shows that people taking MDMA feel more authentic and experience enhanced positive emotions that might lead to shifts in interpersonal behavior that alter their social context, resulting in a beneficial feedback loop.

    “In addition, research shows that people taking MDMA feel more authentic (166) and experience enhanced positive emotions (27) that might lead to shifts in interpersonal behavior that alter their social context, resulting in a beneficial feedback loop.”

    From MDMA-Assisted Therapy as a Means to Alter Affective, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neurological Systems Underlying Social Dysfunction in Social Anxiety Disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [166]

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Sheldon!KM,!Ryan!RM,!Rawsthorne!LJ,!et!al.!(1997)!Trait!self!and!true!self:!CrossJrole!variation!in! the!BigJFive!personality!traits!and!its!relations!with!psychological!authenticity!and! subjective!wellJbeing.!Journal'of'Personality'and'Social'Psychology!73:!1380.!

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Authors
Baggott, M. J., Coyle, J. R., Siegrist, J. D., Garrison, K. J., Galloway, G. P., & Mendelson, J. E.
Affiliations
  • Baggott.Net, Redwood City, CA, USA
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • Friends Research Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Baggott, Matthew J
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Psychopharmacology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2016-02-15
Volume
30
Issue
4
Pages
378-387
ISSN
  • 0269-8811 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7285
DOI
10.1177/0269881115626348
OpenAlex
W2277097137
Cited by
79
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
4.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA017716, R01DA016776, R01DA017716, DA016776)
  • National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR024131, UCSF-CTSI UL1 RR-024131)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
Keywords
MDMA, ecstasy, social emotions, relationship closeness, sociability, authenticity, self-assessment, social anxiety, anxiety, emotional memory, prosocial effects
MeSH terms
Adult, Double-Blind Method, Emotions, Empathy, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Social Behavior, N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, Disclosure, Healthy Volunteers

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