Parrott A C
Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Swansea, UK.
Neuropsychobiology. 2004;50(4):329-35. doi: 10.1159/000080961.
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or 'ecstasy' is a ring-substituted amphetamine derivative, which is widely used as a recreational drug, most particularly at dances and raves. Around 80-95% of dancers/ravers report using ecstasy/MDMA, compared to 5-15% of young people in general. This paper will consider the possible contribution of stimulatory environmental conditions to the neuropsychobiological effects of MDMA. Animal research shows that heat and crowding potentiate the acute effects of MDMA. Social interaction and intravenous drug self-administration in laboratory rats are significantly enhanced when MDMA is given under hot ambient temperatures. Loud noise and physical activity can also contribute to the general overarousal. Furthermore, MDMA impairs homeostatic thermal control in rats, leading them to overheat in hot environments. The human implications of these findings are that the hot, noisy and overcrowded conditions at raves may be providing the ideal environment to heighten the acute drug response. In recreational users, the acute medical dangers of MDMA comprise a constellation of hyperthermia-related abreactions, which generally only occur when it has been taken in hot and crowded environments. MDMA is well established as a serotonergic neurotoxin in laboratory animals, but heat and overcrowding increase the degree of distal axon terminal loss. If this also occurs in humans, then the stimulatory environments of clubs and raves may heighten the likelihood of adverse neuropsychological sequelae in recreational ecstasy users. Consistent with this prediction, the extent of self-reported dancing/exercise when on MDMA has recently been shown to be associated with significantly more psychobiological problems afterwards.
摇头丸（3,4－亚甲基二氧甲基苯丙胺），即“迷幻药”，是一种环状取代的苯丙胺衍生物，被广泛用作消遣性毒品，在舞会和锐舞派对上使用尤为普遍。大约80%至95%的舞者/锐舞派对参与者称使用过迷幻药/摇头丸，而普通年轻人中这一比例为5%至15%。本文将探讨刺激性环境条件对摇头丸神经心理生物学效应可能产生的影响。动物研究表明，高温和拥挤会增强摇头丸的急性效应。在炎热的环境温度下给实验大鼠注射摇头丸时，其社会互动和静脉注射毒品的自我给药行为会显著增强。噪音和身体活动也会导致整体过度兴奋。此外，摇头丸会损害大鼠的体温稳态控制，使其在炎热环境中体温过高。这些研究结果对人类的启示是，锐舞派对上炎热、嘈杂和拥挤的环境可能为增强急性药物反应提供了理想环境。在消遣性使用者中，摇头丸的急性医疗风险包括一系列与体温过高相关的不良反应，这些反应通常只在炎热和拥挤的环境中服用摇头丸时才会出现。在实验动物中，摇头丸已被确认为一种血清素能神经毒素，但高温和拥挤会增加轴突远端终末损失的程度。如果这在人类中也会发生，那么俱乐部和锐舞派对的刺激性环境可能会增加消遣性摇头丸使用者出现不良神经心理后遗症的可能性。与这一预测一致，最近的研究表明，服用摇头丸时自我报告的跳舞/运动量与之后出现的更多心理生物学问题显著相关。
