In class, we recently studied the affects of drugs on the brain, and how they affect your mind and body in the long run. One of the drugs we studied is Ecstasy, or MDMA. Ecstasy is a drug taken at parties or raves that pretty much makes everything feel soft and makes you want to dance your pants off. In reality, MDMA enters the brain cells, and cuts off some cells, letting seratonin flow freely throughout the cell receptors, causing a feeling of euphoria. In the article I read, I learned that ecstasy potentially causes more brain damage then previously thought. This is impressive, because Ecstasy already causes a lot of brain damage. The article stated that research on monkeys indicates that MDMA is a destroyer of dopamine neurons. In fact, after one single multi dose regimen, the MDMA was shown to kill between 60 to 80 percent of the the dopaminergic nerve endings. After 90 percent of the dopamine in a human is lost, Parkinson’s disease occurs.
I found this information very disturbing. that is 80 percent of your ability to feel happiness. This also explained to me why people that use ecstasy describe it as being happier than they ever will be. It absolutely amazes me that someone would willingly take a pill that is proven to destroy large amounts of dopamine, even the first time. I would like to know more about exactly how the drug affects human cells in comparison to monkey cells, and I also really hate that they gave the chimps a drug that destroyed their brain just to test the effects. It reminds me of the blog we did a while ago on ape testing, and how cruel it can be.
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