| Abstract
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Use of ecstasy (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is becoming an increasing health problem across the United States. Numerous studies have demonstrated that ecstasy is a selective serotonin neurotoxin in several animal species and in humans. However, until recently, the cognitive consequences of ecstasy use have been relatively unknown. Studies to date have consistently demonstrated deficits in verbal memory among ecstasy users; while only some have examined impairments in visual memory, working memory, abstract reasoning, planning, attention, and problem solving. To date, there are no published studies that adequately assess the effects of ecstasy exposure on cognitive functioning while controlling for other drugs of abuse, gender, and demographic variables known to be associated with cognitive performance. The primary goal of the proposed project was to assess the relationship between exposure to the psychoactive drug ecstasy and cognitive functioning among 65 men and women. It was hypothesized that increased lifetime and past year ecstasy exposure would be related to poorer performance on cognitive tasks after controlling statistically for consumption of other drugs and potential confounding factors such as age, education, gender, premorbid intelligence, and ethnicity. The primary finding was that increased ecstasy exposure was significantly related to poorer verbal memory and learning ability, while no such relationship was found between executive functioning. Furthermore, gender was found to moderate the relationship with ecstasy exposure and cognitive functioning, including verbal memory retention, visual memory ability, working memory, visual fluency, and cognitive inhibition.
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