e took MDMA and felt feelings of attachment for the first time since the incident and thus, continued using the drug heavily. “Despite evidence of harm to himself, his use of both MDMA and alcohol continued.”In all of the preceding cases, the subjects admitted to using other, more potent drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine. The subject’s dependence to MDMA may have been a result of combining with these harder drugs, but Jansen still contests that, “With repeated, high frequency use, the effects of MDMA may become gradually less empathy-generating and more like amphetamines” (Jansen). The science of MDMA has to do primarily with the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin from the axon terminals in brain cells. The brain contains billions of cells, consisting of a cell body which stores the DNA, dendrites that receive chemical signals from other brain cells, and an axon, a long cylindrical body which relays electrical signals from the cell body to the axon terminals (Sferios). Most serotonin cells begin in a part of the brain called the “raphe nuclei”. The serotonin cells are much longer and thicker than other brain cells, and they branch off from the raphe nuclei to all other parts of the brain. The brain communicates within itself by the use of the brain cells. The neurotransmitter is released from nerve terminals found at the axon base. When they diffuse across the synapse, they are then recognized by receptors on the receiving cell with which they attach themselves. The major function this bond performs is it, “induces, inhibits or modulates currents of electrically charged particles (ions) across the cell membrane” (Aertes).Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, synthesized by the amino acid tryptophan and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH). The amino acid 5 Hydroxy-Tryptophan (5htp) comes in contact with the enzyme decarboxylese when it diffuses through the brain cells’ m...
