‘Ecstasy’ as a social drug: MDMA preferentially affects responses to emotional stimuli with social content

MDMA (ecstasy) increases positive emotional responses specifically to pictures containing people, while reducing positive responses to non-social positive pictures. In two studies with 101 healthy occasional MDMA users, participants rated their reactions to positive, negative, and neutral images with and without social content after receiving different doses of MDMA. The drug did not simply amplify all positive feelings; instead, it selectively enhanced the appeal of social scenes. This suggests MDMA's prosocial effects—such as increased closeness and sociability—may arise from making social contact feel more valuable relative to non-social rewards, which could explain its recreational appeal and potential therapeutic use in psychotherapy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') is used recreationally to improve mood and sociability, and has generated clinical interest as a possible adjunct to psychotherapy. One way that MDMA may produce positive 'prosocial' effects is by changing responses to emotional stimuli, especially stimuli with social content. Here, we examined for the first time how MDMA affects subjective responses to positive, negative and neutral emotional pictures with and without social content. We hypothesized that MDMA would dose-dependently increase reactivity to positive emotional stimuli and dampen reactivity to negative stimuli, and that these effects would be most pronounced for pictures with people in them. The data were obtained from two studies using similar designs with healthy occasional MDMA users (total N = 101). During each session, participants received MDMA (0, 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg oral), and then rated their positive and negative responses to standardized positive, negative and neutral pictures with and without social content. MDMA increased positive ratings of positive social pictures, but reduced positive ratings of non-social positive pictures. We speculate this 'socially selective' effect contributes to the prosocial effects of MDMA by increasing the comparative value of social contact and closeness with others. This effect may also contribute to its attractiveness to recreational users.