Background
Ecstasy
use has been associated with short-term and long-term memory deficits on a
standard Word Learning Task (WLT). The clinical relevance of this has been
debated and is currently unknown. The present study aimed at evaluating the
clinical relevance of verbal memory impairment in Ecstasy users. To that end,
clinical memory impairment was defined as decrement in memory performance that
exceeded the cut-off value of 1.5 times the standard deviation of the average
score in the healthy control sample. The primary question was whether being an
Ecstasy user (E-user) was predictive of having clinically deficient memory
performance compared to a healthy control group.
Methods
WLT
data were pooled from four experimental MDMA studies that compared memory
performance during placebo and MDMA intoxication. Control data were taken from
healthy volunteers with no drug use history who completed the WLT as part of a
placebo-controlled clinical trial. This resulted in a sample size of 65 E-users
and 65 age- and gender-matched healthy drug-naïve controls. All participants
were recruited by similar means and were tested at the same testing facilities
using identical standard operating procedures. Data were analyzed using linear
mixed-effects models, Bayes factor, and logistic regressions.
Results
Findings
were that verbal memory performance of placebo-treated E-users did not differ
from that of controls, and there was substantial evidence in favor of the null
hypothesis. History of use was not predictive of memory impairment. During MDMA
intoxication of E-users, verbal memory was impaired.
Conclusion
The combination of the acute and long-term findings
demonstrates that, while clinically relevant memory impairment is present
during intoxication, it is absent during abstinence. This suggests that use of
Ecstasy/MDMA does not lead to clinically deficient memory performance in the
long term. Additionally, it has to be investigated whether the current findings
apply to more complex cognitive measures in diverse ‘user categories’ using a
combination of genetics, imaging techniques and neuropsychological assessments.
Below: Frequency distribution of the raw IR (left panel) and DR (right panel) scores in the Ecstasy users during MDMA intoxication and placebo, and healthy controls
Full article at: http://goo.gl/KprKVF
By:
Department of Neuropsychology
& Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience, Maastricht
University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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