Ecstasy (MDMA) effects upon mood and cognition: before, during and after a Saturday night dance.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized controlled cohort study
PubMed 9784083 · doi:10.1007/s002130050714
What was done
Three groups of young adults aged 19–30 were compared: 15 regular ecstasy users (≥10 previous MDMA uses), 15 novice users (<10 uses), and 15 non-MDMA controls. Participants completed cognitive testing (verbal recall, visual scanning) and mood ratings at four time points: drug-free baseline, during a Saturday night dance/club event (on-drug), 2 days post-event, and 7 days post-event. Polydrug use (alcohol, cannabis, cocaine) was tracked across groups.
What was found
At the club, regular users took a mean of 1.80 MDMA tablets and novices took 1.45 tablets, while controls mostly consumed alcohol; cannabis and cocaine use was similar across groups. Positive mood was reported by all groups at the club, with a borderline trend (P < 0.10) toward lower sadness/depression in MDMA users. Two days later, ecstasy users reported significantly greater depression, feeling abnormal, unsociable, unpleasant, and less good-tempered than controls. Acute MDMA significantly impaired verbal recall and visual scanning performance. In drug-free states, memory recall was significantly impaired in ecstasy users, with regular users showing the worst memory performance across all test sessions (exact test scores not reported in the abstract).
Why it matters
This study documents both acute and subacute ("mid-week blues") adverse mood and cognitive effects following naturalistic MDMA use, while highlighting long-term memory deficits in regular recreational users.
Limits
The sample size was small (15 per group, 45 total). The design was observational and non-randomized, meaning pre-existing differences cannot be ruled out. Illicit tablet dose and purity were uncontrolled, and unmeasured confounders like sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, and co-ingested substances may have influenced mood and cognitive measures.
Cited by
- supports MDMA use is characteristically followed by a noticeable drop in mood approximately two days after consumption.