[HN Gopher] MDMA enhances empathy-like behaviors in mice via 5-H...
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       MDMA enhances empathy-like behaviors in mice via 5-HT release
        
       Author : kryster
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2024-04-24 20:34 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.science.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.science.org)
        
       | zer00eyz wrote:
       | No one who has taken a large dose of pure MDMA is shocked by
       | this, or much of the positive research that is coming out about
       | its impact in a controlled environment.
       | 
       | Can you abuse MDMA? You sure can. But there are people who
       | overindulge in a lot of things that cause harm, and some of them
       | aren't even drugs (Gambling springs to mind).
       | 
       | I think the fact that we're doing this research is progress
       | longoverdue.
        
         | jorl17 wrote:
         | The research is focused on _how_ it works, rather than _if_ it
         | works. The abstract itself begins by stating that "MDMA
         | (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a psychoactive drug with
         | powerful prosocial effects."
         | 
         | I had the same reaction reading the title :)
         | 
         | (Although from what I gather, people have been taking
         | supplements of 5-HTP to deal with the "post-MDMA depression"
         | for ages, so...)
        
           | pizza234 wrote:
           | > The research is focused on _how_ it works, rather than _if_
           | it works
           | 
           | True, but it also has this very perplexing statement:
           | 
           | > The assertion that it does function as a robust
           | "empathogen" is largely based on anecdotal clinical reports,
           | which conflict with several human subject studies that have
           | commonly failed to reveal robust empathogenic effects. For
           | example, MDMA appears to only mildly potentiate empathy (5,
           | 6) in the multifaceted empathy test, in which subjects are
           | asked to self-report levels of arousal after exposure to
           | emotionally charged images
           | 
           | Such assertion is largely based on million of actual users.
           | The scientists' observation is completely disconnected from
           | reality, to the point of being false; given this, I question
           | very radically the validity of the referenced research.
        
       | matrix87 wrote:
       | Fake MDMA is such a common thing, it really would benefit from
       | being legalized from a harm reduction standpoint
        
         | pizza234 wrote:
         | Based on analyses in at two countries, fake MDMA (ecstasy pills
         | without MDMA) is not common.
         | 
         | MDMA content in the pills is often overstated, but still high
         | (even too high, referring to the health organization
         | guidelines); this is IMO the most damaging effect of lack of
         | regulation - it's impossible to know how much MDMA one is going
         | to ingest.
         | 
         | I agree 100% that MDMA legalization is a benefit. As first step
         | though, drug checking centers are a huge (and realistic) step
         | forward.
        
       | hereonout2 wrote:
       | > While MDMA is sometimes termed an "empathogen," empirical
       | studies have struggled to clearly demonstrate these effects
       | 
       | Clearly the scientists carrying out these studies need to change
       | their working hours.
       | 
       | Visiting any European dance music venue on any given weekend in
       | the last 30 years would have provided adequate demonstration of
       | the effects.
        
         | _3u10 wrote:
         | Talking to those people mid week gives a different opinion on
         | the effect the drug has.
        
           | hpeter wrote:
           | Yeah people on festivals usually look depressed and
           | aggressive by day 3. What goes up must come down.
        
       | anigbrowl wrote:
       | How is this news, people at raves knew about MDMA's effect on
       | 5-HT receptors back in the 1990s. Lots of people would take 5-HTP
       | after a party to fend off Tuesday morning blues.
       | 
       |  _MDMA's psychotherapeutic value may lie in its ability to
       | strengthen the patient-therapist relationship, thereby
       | facilitating talk therapy sessions_
       | 
       | That sounds like a recipe for transference (patients projecting
       | feelings onto therapists, including romantic attractions). The
       | mouse study seems well designed and all, just don't think this
       | Skinner box approach to psychotherapy is the right approach.
        
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