Ecstasy drug dulls the brain, study reveals

Ecstasy drug use inflicts long-term and possibly permanent changes to brain tissue, a new study appearing in this month's issue of Neuropsychopharmacology reveals.

Researchers in Vanderbilt University Medical Center used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect visual stimulation in study participants aged between 18 and 35 years old who had used either a placebo or ecstasy drug within two weeks of undergoing the test.

The results of the imaging tests reveal that those who used ecstasy had unusually significant activity in three areas in the brain responsible for visual processing and that they experience loss of serotonin signaling when taking ecstasy.

If brain areas demonstrates hyper-excitability, it also means that the brain becomes less efficient and may make it difficult for a person to do a certain task effectively and that processing information proves more difficult than normal.

"We think this shift in cortical excitability may be chronic, long-lasting and even permanent," psychiatry professor and study author Dr. Ronald Cowan said in a press release. "The question is what will happen to their brains as they age over the next 60 years."

The researchers found out that among those who took ecstasy drug for more than 12 months, hyper-excitability persisted after the MRI test, suggesting permanent brain effects.

Also known as MDMA, "E" or "X" - ecstasy drug is illegal in the United States and most other countries. It can produce feelings of euphoria, lessens anxiety and boosts a sense of well-being. Ecstasy drug is often associated with dance parties.

Ecstasy drug use can have adverse after effects such as anxiety, depression, apathy, insomnia, fatigue, fainting, organ failure, brain damage, coma and death.