oud). This space is now an increased synapse that takes messages of serotonin longer to diffuse across, thus slowing the organism’s responses of happiness and other effects of serotonin. This can also be a cause of depression in the users of MDMA. In studies performed on monkeys and rats, the axon regeneration observed after the use of MDMA was shown to be extremely abnormal. After the dopamine destroys the terminals, the axonal sprouting has trouble reaching areas of the brain away from the raphe nuclei such as the dorsal neocortex and the frontal cortex. The areas close to the nuclei, “such as the hippocampus and amygdala were reinnervated or hyperinnervated” (“Effects…”).In most cases, the regeneration could be more harmful than the actual degeneration. When the serotonin cannot reach the dorsal neocortex, there can be severe reduction of motor and cognitive skills (“Effects…”). The hyperinnervation of the hippocampus and hypothalamus regions cause severe changes in personality ranging from loss of sexual drive and motivation due to the altered connections of the cells. It has been proven that Alzheimer’s disease can be induced by abnormalities in areas surrounding the raphe nucleus. Therefore, the regeneration of the axons in this area can be a cause of the early onset of the disease or general dementia.The biggest flaw of the data collected in all the studies mentioned above is that their merits were relative. The exact reason why MDMA releases so much serotonin is unknown. The acute systemic effects are primarily based on personal accounts. Also, most of the primary biological observations were done on monkeys and rats, making all identification with humans speculative at best. However, the research does present some major points and can definitely conclude that Ecstasy is not a safe drug. With the depletion of serotonin, the destruction of important brain ...
