Increased responsiveness to MDMA in adult rats treated neonatally with MDMA.
MDMA [(+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy] is a popular recreational drug among women of reproductive age. The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term neurobehavioral consequences of early developmental MDMA exposure. On postnatal days (PD) 1-4, Sprague-Dawley rats received two 10 mg/kg injections of MDMA with an inter-dose interval of 4 h. Male subjects were tested in adulthood for their performance in an object-recognition memory task and for their thermal and behavioral responses to an acute MDMA challenge (10 mg/kg i.p.). Neonatal MDMA administration did not alter working memory in the object-recognition test in young adulthood (PD 68-73) and there were no differences in radiolabeled citalopram binding to the serotonin transporter at this age. However, the pretreated animals showed increased thermal dysregulation and serotonin syndrome responses (particularly headweaving stereotypy) following the MDMA challenge. These results add to the growing literature demonstrating that developmental MDMA administration can lead to long-lasting functional abnormalities, and they further suggest that the offspring of ecstasy-using women may be at risk for enhanced sensitivity to this drug due to their earlier exposure.
Piper
Brian J
BJ
Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-7710, USA.
Meyer
Jerrold S
JS
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001667:Binding, Competitive / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D018490:Serotonin Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D020230:Serotonin Syndrome / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D019956:Stereotypic Movement Disorder / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology
D018490:Serotonin Agents; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D012701:Serotonin; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine