Altered brain activity and functional connectivity after MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2022 S Parker Singleton, Julie B Wang, Michael Mithoefer et al. 36 citations
In nine veterans and first-responders with chronic PTSD, MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) did not significantly increase amygdala-hippocampus resting-state functional connectivity as hypothesized, showing only a trend. After treatment, brain activation during trauma memory recall decreased in the cuneus. Recovery from PTSD correlated with changes in four functional connections during autobiographical memory recall: left amygdala with left and right posterior cingulate cortex and left insula, and left isthmus cingulate with left posterior hippocampus. These findings suggest that amygdala, hippocampus, and insula functional connectivity may be a target of MDMA-AT, highlighting regions involved in memory processes.