Developmental Psychobiology
January 1, 2005
Brian J. Piper, Joseph B. Fraiman, Jerrold S. Meyer
71 citations
Repeated exposure to a moderate dose of MDMA during adolescence in male rats caused acute effects such as hypothermia, serotonin syndrome behavior, and ejaculation, and slowed body weight gain. Later, after the drug was stopped, the animals showed altered habituation to an open field, increased activity in an elevated plus maze, reduced attention in a novel object recognition test, and decreased serotonin transporter binding in the neocortex. These results indicate that even a moderate MDMA regimen during adolescence can produce lasting behavioral and neurochemical changes.
Developmental Psychobiology
June 15, 2013
Jennifer L. Cobuzzi, Kayla Siletti, Zachary E. Hurwitz et al.
15 citations
Adolescent rats are less sensitive than adults to the aversive effects of MDMA, as measured by conditioned taste aversion. In the study, adolescent and adult Sprague-Dawley rats received subcutaneous injections of MDMA at doses of 0, 1.0, 1.8, or 3.2 mg/kg. Adolescents developed weaker taste aversions during acquisition and on a final two-bottle test. MDMA at these low doses did not consistently alter monoamine or metabolite levels in brain regions for either age group, though levels varied with age. The reduced sensitivity to MDMA's aversive effects in adolescents may increase their vulnerability to MDMA abuse.
Developmental Psychobiology
July 1, 1984
Michael E. Trulson, Gailyn A. Howell
5 citations
In cats, the behavioral effects of LSD emerge around 21 days of age and reach adult levels by 35–40 days postpartum. Behaviors such as limb-flicking, abortive grooming, head-shakes, and investigatory responses appear at low frequency before 14 days, then increase rapidly. After an acute injection, effects last about 8 hours from their first appearance. Young kittens (21–42 days old) are resistant to developing tolerance with repeated doses. LSD can elicit behaviors like head-shakes and grooming earlier than they normally appear spontaneously, suggesting the neural and muscular systems for these behaviors develop before natural use.
Developmental Psychobiology
July 1, 2014
Brian J. Piper, Christina S. Henderson, Jerrold S. Meyer
2 citations
In female rats, prior intermittent exposure to MDMA (ecstasy) prevented the drop in serotonin transporter binding and the body temperature disruption normally caused by a later high-dose MDMA binge. Unlike males, female rats did not show reduced motor activity after the binge. The findings indicate that while females and males respond differently to an MDMA binge, both sexes exhibit a preconditioning effect from earlier MDMA exposure that protects against some of the binge's harmful effects.