MDMA decreases the effects of simulated social rejection - PubMed (original) (raw)

MDMA decreases the effects of simulated social rejection

Charles G Frye et al. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2014 Feb.

Abstract

3-4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) increases self-reported positive social feelings and decreases the ability to detect social threat in faces, but its effects on experiences of social acceptance and rejection have not been determined. We examined how an acute dose of MDMA affects subjective and autonomic responses to simulated social acceptance and rejection. We predicted that MDMA would decrease subjective responses to rejection. On an exploratory basis, we also examined the effect of MDMA on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic cardiac control often thought to index social engagement and emotional regulation. Over three sessions, healthy adult volunteers with previous MDMA experience (N=36) received capsules containing placebo, 0.75 or 1.5 mg/kg of MDMA under counter-balanced double-blind conditions. During expected peak drug effect, participants played two rounds of a virtual social simulation task called "Cyberball" during which they experienced acceptance in one round and rejection in the other. During the task we also obtained electrocardiograms (ECGs), from which we calculated RSA. After each round, participants answered questionnaires about their mood and self-esteem. As predicted, MDMA decreased the effect of simulated social rejection on self-reported mood and self-esteem and decreased perceived intensity of rejection, measured as the percent of ball tosses participants reported receiving. Consistent with its sympathomimetic properties, MDMA decreased RSA as compared to placebo. Our finding that MDMA decreases perceptions of rejection in simulated social situations extends previous results indicating that MDMA reduces perception of social threat in faces. Together these findings suggest a cognitive mechanism by which MDMA might produce pro-social behavior and feelings and how the drug might function as an adjunct to psychotherapy. These phenomena merit further study in non-simulated social environments.

Keywords: Cyberball; MDMA; Respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Social cognition.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Replication of typical MDMA effects: MDMA dose-dependently increases subjective feelings of “high-ness” and “loving-ness” and increases heart rate. Solid traces indicate the high dose, dashed the low, and dotted the placebo. Symbols indicate significant differences from 0 (p<.05 using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test) for the medians of the following change scores: &, high – placebo; %, low – placebo; #, high – low. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Arrows indicate the timing of capsule administration and Cyberball, the social simulation game. Top, responses to “are you high right now?”; Center, responses to “do you feel loving?”; Bottom, mean heart rates in beats per minute.

Figure 2

Figure 2

The high dose of MDMA increases self-reported mood, self-esteem, and reported percentage of throws received after rejection during a ball-tossing social simulation game without increasing them after acceptance in the same. Color indicates dose as follows: dark gray, high; light gray, low; white, placebo. Symbols indicate significant differences from 0 (p<.05 using Student’s _T_-test) for the following change scores: &, high – placebo; %, low – placebo; #, high – low. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. The thick black line in the right panel indicates the correct value for percentage throws received in each condition.

Figure 3

Figure 3

MDMA dose-dependently decreases respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and there was no detectable effect of Cyberball on RSA. Color indicates dose as follows: dark gray, high; light gray, low; white, placebo. Symbols indicate significant differences from 0 (p<.05 using Student’s _T_-test) for the following change scores: &, high – placebo; %, low – placebo; #, high – low. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Bar groupings indicate, from left to right, RSA power calculated from EKGs taken: before capsule administration, 120 minutes after capsule administration, after simulated social acceptance, and after simulated social rejection.

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