Bolla K I, McCann U D, Ricaurte G A
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Neurology. 1998 Dec;51(6):1532-7. doi: 10.1212/wnl.51.6.1532.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or "Ecstasy") is a popular recreational drug of abuse that is known to damage brain serotonergic neurons in animals and possibly humans. Few functional consequences of MDMA-induced serotonin (5-HT) neurotoxicity have been identified, either in animals or humans. This study sought to determine whether individuals with a history of extensive MDMA use showed evidence of memory impairment, because brain serotonin has been implicated in mnemonic function.
The authors compared 24 abstinent MDMA users and 24 control subjects on several standardized tests of memory, after matching subjects for age, gender, educational level, and vocabulary score (a surrogate of verbal intelligence). The authors also explored correlations between changes in memory function and decrements in CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which serves as a marker of central 5-HT neural function.
Greater use of MDMA (total milligrams per month) was associated with greater impairment in immediate verbal memory (p < 0.02) and delayed visual memory (p < 0.06). Furthermore, lower vocabulary scores were associated with stronger dose-related effects, with men having greater dose-related deficits than women. Lastly, lower concentrations of CSF 5-HIAA were associated with poorer memory performance.
Abstinent MDMA users have impairment in verbal and visual memory. The extent of memory impairment correlates with the degree of MDMA exposure and the reduction in brain 5-HT, as indexed by CSF 5-HIAA.
亚甲基二氧甲基苯丙胺（摇头丸，或“迷魂药”）是一种广受欢迎的滥用娱乐性药物，已知会损害动物以及可能包括人类的脑血清素能神经元。无论是在动物还是人类中，摇头丸诱导的血清素（5-羟色胺，5-HT）神经毒性的功能后果鲜有被确定。本研究旨在确定有大量使用摇头丸史的个体是否有记忆损害的迹象，因为脑血清素与记忆功能有关。
在根据年龄、性别、教育水平和词汇分数（言语智力的替代指标）对受试者进行匹配后，作者比较了24名已戒除摇头丸的使用者和24名对照受试者在多项标准化记忆测试中的表现。作者还探讨了记忆功能变化与脑脊液5-羟吲哚乙酸（5-HIAA）减少之间的相关性，5-HIAA是中枢5-HT神经功能的标志物。
摇头丸使用量越大（每月总毫克数），即时言语记忆损害越大（p < 0.02），延迟视觉记忆损害越大（p < 0.06）。此外，词汇分数越低，剂量相关效应越强，男性的剂量相关缺陷比女性更大。最后，脑脊液5-HIAA浓度越低，记忆表现越差。
已戒除摇头丸的使用者存在言语和视觉记忆损害。记忆损害程度与摇头丸暴露程度以及脑5-HT减少程度相关，脑脊液5-HIAA可作为其指标。
