Ecstasy and brain

1998/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

The University of Baltimore has published the results of the brain study conducted on drug users through scanners. The results indicate that ecstasy causes long-term damage. Many studies have already suspected that this drug harms memory and causes depressions.

By positron tomography, the brains of 14 ecstasy users have been scanned. In addition, and to be able to compare the data, they have also scanned brains of people who have consumed cocaine, heroin and marijuana, but have not taken ecstasy.

The particularity has been given by a type of synapse that releases a neurotransmitter called serotinin. In the brain can be found millions of nervous links of this type that intervene in many functions, being able to influence behavior and mood.

Researchers injected consumers with a radioactive substance that highlights healthy serotine synapses. This substance attaches to the protein that transports serotinin through the walls of cells. Ecstasy consumers presented the shortage of this protein transporter in all brain regions.