CompletedNot applicableResults posted

Effects of MDMA on Social and Emotional Processing

NCT01849419 · University of Chicago

Closed to entry

Status

Not accepting participants

Not applicable

Phase

Target enrolment

Study sites

1 US states

What it is testing

Summary

The main aim of the study is to investigate the effects of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) on social and emotional processing in healthy humans. Ecstasy is a widely used recreational drug, with over 2 million Americans reporting use of the drug in 2006. With this number of users, and evidence that high doses of MDMA are neurotoxic in laboratory animals, the public health implications of ecstasy use may be substantial. Certain subjective effects of this drug distinguish it from other stimulants, and may contribute to its widespread use: That is, users report that ecstasy produces profound feelings of empathy and closeness to others. These so-called 'empathogenic' effects, which may reflect the distinctive neurochemical profile of action of the drug, have yet to be characterized in controlled laboratory studies. The investigators propose to characterize the effects of MDMA on measures of social and emotional processing that may contribute to this 'empathogenic' profile, including measures of emotion recognition, emotional responsiveness and sociability. The investigators will assess effects of MDMA (0, 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg up to 125 mg) one active control drug (oxytocin: 20 IU) in 100 volunteers who report some prior ecstasy use. Oxytocin will be used because it appears to produce pro-social behavioral effects resembling those attributed to MDMA.

Summary as written by the trial’s own sponsor and published on ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. It is the sponsor’s description, reproduced unedited, not an assessment by this site.

What counts as success

Primary outcome measures

Emotional Recognition (MDMA)
Measured over 15 minutes during each session
Emotional Recognition (Oxytocin)
Measured over 15 minutes during each session
Emotional Recognition (Placebo)
Measured over 15 minutes during each session

A trial succeeds or fails on its primary outcome, declared in advance. Everything else it reports is secondary by definition.

Who can take part

Eligibility, as published

18 Years to 35 Years

Ages

All

Sex

Accepted

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria: * 18-35, * healthy, * normal weight, * high school education, * normal electrocardiogram, * no psychiatric disorders, * occasional MDMA use Exclusion Criteria: * current medications, * night shift work, * abnormal electrocardiogram, * medical problems

Where

1 study site

Facility	City	Region	Country
University of Chicago	Chicago	Illinois	United States

On the registry

Contact the trial directly

This site does not enrol anyone and is not involved in this trial. To ask about taking part, use the sponsor’s own contact details on the official registry record, which is also where the most current version of everything above lives.

Before you do, the preparation checklist lists what a site will ask you on a first call and what is worth asking them. It is free and collects nothing.

NCT01849419 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2014-12-18. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Where this trial sits

Substance

MDMA

Recruiting in

Illinois45

All 12 trials from University of Chicago →