other psychopathology in patients following both acute and long-term exposure to MDMA. Because of the convergence of both empirical and case-study evidence on this topic, I see a clear relationship between 5-HT levels and incidence of depression. This article shows us that there is a strong correlation and a likely causal relationship between MDMA use and lowered 5-HT levels, independent of other variables. Therefore, the medical and psychological communities should take evidence that suggests a link between 5-HT deficit and MDMA use very seriously indeed. I would not recommend ecstasy as a recreational drug because I feel that the decreased levels of serotonin incurred by its use and possible subsequent depression is not worth the high. The second article I reviewed is entitled “Methamphetamine self-administration by humans.” It was written by Carl L. Hart, Amie S. Ward, Margaret Haney, Richard W. Foltin, and Marian W. Fischman and published in The American Journal of Psychopharmacology, Issue # 157, pages 75-81, October 2001. Methamphetamine is a stimulant commonly found in “ecstasy” tablets sold on the street. Ecstasy tablets are rarely pure MDMA, but rather a mix of a number of stimulants. The goal of this article is to determine what are the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in humans-that is, why is oral methamphetamine a positive reinforcer in humans?In this study the researchers were attempting to characterize methamphetmine’s reinforcing effects in human research participants under controlled laboratory conditions. They wanted to see why people continue to orally self-administer MA despite wildly known indications that the drug is harmful. This also wanted to know if people would self-administer solely to achieve greater subjective positive effects (does it depend on how good the high is?) In order to reach their goal, the researchers set up an experiment to figure out why MA work...
