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Ecstasy may damage memory

The popular club drug ecstasy may damage areas of the brain involved with verbal memory, says a study by Dutch researchers.

They found that ecstasy users scored significantly lower than non-users on a test of verbal memory. The test involved memorising a series of 15 words and repeating them immediately and again 20 minutes later, The Scotsman reported.

The study appears in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

It's believed that ecstasy affects cells in the brain that produce the chemical serotonin, a nerve message transmitter involved with learning and memory, The Scotsman reported.

"Our data indicates that low doses of ecstasy are associated with decreased verbal memory function, which is suggestive for ecstasy-induced neurotoxicity," the study authors wrote. "Further research on the long-term effects of ecstasy, as well as on the possibility of additive effects of ecstasy use on ageing of the brain, is needed." – (HealthDayNews)

Read more:
All about Ecstasy
A little E is dangerous

June 2007

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