MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior.
- Hysek CM Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Schmid Y Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Simmler LD Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Domes G Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Heinrichs M Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Eisenegger C Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Preller KH Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Quednow BB Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Liechti ME Psychopharmacology Research Group, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, CB21TN Cambridge, UK, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland matthias.liechti@usb.ch.
- 2013-10-08
Published in:
- Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. - 2014
MDMA
ecstasy
emotion recognition
empathy
social behavior
social cognition
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Cross-Over Studies
Double-Blind Method
Emotions
Empathy
Face
Female
Glycopeptides
Hallucinogens
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
Oxytocin
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Social Behavior
Visual Analog Scale
Young Adult
English
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') releases serotonin and norepinephrine. MDMA is reported to produce empathogenic and prosocial feelings. It is unknown whether MDMA in fact alters empathic concern and prosocial behavior. We investigated the acute effects of MDMA using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), dynamic Face Emotion Recognition Task (FERT) and Social Value Orientation (SVO) test. We also assessed effects of MDMA on plasma levels of hormones involved in social behavior using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, random-order, cross-over design in 32 healthy volunteers (16 women). MDMA enhanced explicit and implicit emotional empathy in the MET and increased prosocial behavior in the SVO test in men. MDMA did not alter cognitive empathy in the MET but impaired the identification of negative emotions, including fearful, angry and sad faces, in the FERT, particularly in women. MDMA increased plasma levels of cortisol and prolactin, which are markers of serotonergic and noradrenergic activity, and of oxytocin, which has been associated with prosocial behavior. In summary, MDMA sex-specifically altered the recognition of emotions, emotional empathy and prosociality. These effects likely enhance sociability when MDMA is used recreationally and may be useful when MDMA is administered in conjunction with psychotherapy in patients with social dysfunction or post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- hybrid
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1093/scan/nst161
- PMID 24097374
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/236229
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