ECSTASY 'DAMAGES MEMORY'

Ecstasy may have a long-term effect on the memory Ecstasy, the illegal
recreational drug popular among young nightclub goers, appears to damage the
memory, researchers have found.

They found that current users and even former users of the drug perform
worse in tests involving working memory than non-users.

The tests, reported in the British Journal of Psychology, were carried out
by a team from Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk.

The psychologists compared groups of non-users, current ecstasy users and
people who had not touched the drug for at least six months.

The tests involved the 'working memory' which is concerned with common tasks
such interpreting visual and audio information and understanding language.

Everyday Tasks

Deficiencies in such tests typically indicate potential problems on a range
of everyday tasks.

Performing under time pressure, the users and former users made
significantly more mistakes than the non-users.

Researcher Dr Philip Murphy said: "The poor performance on these tasks of
former ecstasy users is potentially worrying as it implies the possibility
of long-term effects which may not be reversible."

Former users rated themselves as significantly more mentally alert than
current users.

Dr Murphy said: "One speculative interpretation is that this may be
indicative of the abnormal regeneration of nerve fibres in the brain
containing serotonin, after initial damage caused by the toxic effects of
ecstasy (MDMA).

"Such abnormal regeneration has been found in studies of laboratory animals
given ecstasy."

Serotonin is a chemical that enables messages to be passed around the brain.