Abstract
Rationale/Objectives
Recent theoretical models suggest that the central executive may not be a unified structure. The present study explored the nature of central executive deficits in ecstasy users.
Methods
In study 1, 27 ecstasy users and 34 non-users were assessed using tasks to tap memory updating (computation span; letter updating) and access to long-term memory (a semantic fluency test and the Chicago Word Fluency Test). In study 2, 51 ecstasy users and 42 non-users completed tasks that assess mental set switching (number/letter and plus/minus) and inhibition (random letter generation).
Results
MANOVA revealed that ecstasy users performed worse on both tasks used to assess memory updating and on tasks to assess access to long-term memory (C- and S-letter fluency). However, notwithstanding the significant ecstasy group-related effects, indices of cocaine and cannabis use were also significantly correlated with most of the executive measures. Unexpectedly, in study 2, ecstasy users performed significantly better on the inhibition task, producing more letters than non-users. No group differences were observed on the switching tasks. Correlations between indices of ecstasy use and number of letters produced were significant.
Conclusions
The present study provides further support for ecstasy/polydrug-related deficits in memory updating and in access to long-term memory. The surplus evident on the inhibition task should be treated with some caution, as this was limited to a single measure and has not been supported by our previous work.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Those in the non-user group who reported that they had ever used amphetamine or cocaine (N=1 and 4, respectively) felt that they were unable to estimate their pattern of use accurately.
Those in the non-user group who reported that they had ever used amphetamine or cocaine (N=1 and 4, respectively) felt that they were unable to estimate their pattern of use accurately.
References
Aron AR, Fletcher PC, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW (2003) Stop-signal inhibition disrupted by damage to the right inferior frontal gyrus in humans. Nat Neurosci 6:115–116
Baddeley AD (1996) Exploring the central executive. Q J Exp Psychol 49A:5–28
Bhattachary S, Powell JH (2001) Recreational use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or “ecstasy”: evidence for cognitive impairment. Psychol Med 31:647–658
Bolla KI, McCann UD, Ricaurte GA (1998) Memory impairment in abstinent MDMA (“ecstasy”) users. Neurology 51:1532–1537
Casey BJ, Trainor RJ, Orendi JL, Schubert AB, Nystrom LE, Giedd JN, Castellanos FX, Haxby JV, Noll DC, Forman SD, Dahl RE, Rapoport JL (1997) A developmental functional MRI study of prefrontal activation during performance of a go/no-go task. J Cogn Neurosci 9:835–847
Cohen Z, Bonvento G, Lacombe P, Hamel E (1996) Serotonin in the regulation of brain microcirculation. Prog Neurobiol 50:335–362
Cole J, Bailey M, Sumnall HR, Wagstaff GF, King LA (2002a) The content of ecstasy tablets: implications for the study of their long-term effects. Addiction 97:1531–1536
Cole J, Sumnall H, Grob C (2002b) Sorted: ecstasy facts and fiction. Psychologist 15(9):464–467
Cowan RL, Lyoo IK, Sung SM, Ahn KH, Kim MJ, Hwang J, Haga E, Vimal RLP, Lukas SE, Renshaw PF (2003) Reduced cortical gray matter density in human MDMA (ecstasy) users: a voxel-based morphometry study. Drug Alcohol Depend 72:225–235
Croft RJ, Mackay AJ, Mills ATD, Gruzelier JGH (2001) The relative contributions of ecstasy and cannabis to cognitive impairment. Psychopharmacology 153:373–379
Curran HV, Travill RA (1997) Mood and cognitive deficits of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA “ecstasy”): weekend “high” followed by mid-week low. Addiction 92:821–831
Curran HV, Verheyden SL (2003) Altered response to tryptophan supplementation after long-term abstention from MDMA (ecstasy) is highly correlated with human memory function. Psychopharmacology 169(1):91–103
Fisk JE, Sharp C (2004) Age-related impairment in executive functioning: updating, inhibition, shifting, and access. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 26
Fisk JE, Warr P (1996) Age and working memory: the role of perceptual speed, the Central Executive and the phonological loop. Psychol Aging 11(2):316–323
Fisk JE, Montgomery C, Murphy P, Wareing M (2004) Evidence of executive deficits among users of MDMA (Ecstasy). Br J Psychol 95:457–466
Fox HC, Parrot AC, Turner JJD (2001) Ecstasy use: cognitive deficits related to dosage rather than self-reported problematic use of the drug. J Psychopharmacol 15:273–281
Fox HC, McLean A, Turner JJD, Parrott AC, Rogers R, Sahakian BJ (2002) Neuropsychological evidence of a relatively selective profile of temporal dysfunction in drug-free MDMA (“ecstasy”) polydrug users. Psychopharmacology 162:203–214
Giuffrida A, Parsons LH, Kerr TM, Rodriguez de Fonesca F, Navarro M, Piomelli D (1999) Dopamine activation of endogenous cannabinoid signalling in the dorsal striatum. Nat Neurosci 2:358–363
Goldman-Rakic PS (1996) The prefrontal landscape: implications of functional architecture for understanding human mentation and the central executive. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 351:1445–1453
Gouzoulis-Mayfrank E, Daumann J, Tuchtenhagen F, Pelz S, Becker S, Kunert HK, Fimm B, Sass H (2000) Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 68:719–725
Heffernan TM, Jarvis H, Rodgers J, Scholey AB, Ling J (2001) Prospective memory, everyday cognitive failure and central executive function in recreational users of Ecstasy. Hum Psychopharm Clin Exp 16(8):607–612
Hinkle DE, Wiersma W, Jurs SG (1994) Applied statistics for the behavioral sciences, 3rd edn. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Jacobsen LK, Mencl WE, Pugh KR, Skudlarski P, Krystal JH (2003) Preliminary evidence of hippocampal dysfunction in adolescent MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users: possible relationship to neurotoxic effects. Psychopharmacology 173:383–390
Johns MW (1991) A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep 14:540–545
Kiefer M, Marzinzik F, Weisbrod M, Scherg M, Spitzer M (1998) The time course of brain activations during response inhibition: evidence from event-related potentials in a go/no-go task. NeuroReport 9:765–770
Kish SJ (2002) How strong is the evidence that brain serotonin neurons are damaged in human users of ecstasy? Pharmacol Biochem Behav 71:845–855
Klugman A, Hardy S, Baldeweg T, Gruzelier J (1999) Toxic effect of MDMA on brain serotonin neurons. Lancet 353:1269–1270
Kolb B, Whishaw IQ (1985) Fundamentals of human neuropsychology, 2nd edn. WH Freeman, New York
Lehto J (1996) Are executive function tests dependent on working memory capacity? Q J Exp Psychol A 49:29–50
Levin HS, Song J, Ewing-Cobbs L, Chapman SB, Mendelsohn D (2001) Word fluency in relation to severity of closed head injury, associated frontal brain lesions, and age at injury in children. Neuropsychologia 39(2):122–131
Liechti ME, Gamma A, Vollenweider FX (2001) Gender differences in the subjective effects of MDMA. Psychopharmacology 154:161–168
McCann UD, Ridenour A, Shaham Y, Ricaurte GA (1994) Serotonin neurotoxicity after 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy): a controlled study in humans. Neuropsychopharmacology 10:129–138
McCardle K, Luebbers S, Carter JD, Croft RJ, Stough C (2004) Chronic MDMA (ecstasy) use, cognition and mood. Psychopharmacology 173(3–4):434–439
McDowell DM, Kleber HD (1994) MDMA: its history and pharmacology. Psychiatr Ann 24:127–130
Miyake A, Friedman NP, Emerson MJ, Witzki AH, Howerter A, Wager TD (2000) The unity and diversity of executive functions, and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cogn Psychol 41(1):49–100
Montgomery C, Fisk JE, Newcombe R (2004) Further evidence for deficits in the updating executive component process of working memory in users of MDMA (Ecstasy). Proc Br Psychol Soc 12:70
Montgomery C, Fisk JE, Newcombe R, Wareing M, Murphy PN (2005) Syllogistic reasoning performance in MDMA (ecstasy) users. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 13
Montgomery C, Fisk JE, Newcombe R (in press) The nature of ecstasy-group related differences in associative learning. Psychopharmacology
Morgan MJ (1998) Recreational use of “ecstasy” (MDMA) is associated with elevated impulsivity. Neuropsychopharmacology 19:252–264
Morgan MJ (1999) Memory deficits associated with recreational use of “ecstasy” (MDMA). Psychopharmacology 141:30–36
Morgan MJ, McFie L, Fleetwood LH, Robinson JA (2002) Ecstasy (MDMA): are the psychological problems associated with it's use reversed by prolonged abstinence? Psychopharmacology 159:294–303
Morris N, Jones DM (1990) Memory updating in working memory: the role of the central executive. Br J Psychol 81:111–121
Moulden DJA, Picton TW, Meiran N, Stuss DT, Riera JJ, Valdes-Sosa P (1998) Event-related potentials when switching attention between task-sets. Brain Cogn 37:186–190
Nelson HE (1982) National Adult Reading Test (NART) test manual. NFER-Nelson, Windsor, Berkshire
Ng Cheong Ton JM, Gardner EL (1986) Effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on dopamine release in the brain: intracranial microdialysis experiments. Soc Neurosci Abstr 13:135
Parrot AC (2000) Human research on MDMA (3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine) neurotoxicity: cognitive and behavioural indices of change. Neuropsychobiology 42:17–24
Parrot AC (2004) Is ecstasy MDMA? A review of the proportion of ecstasy tablets containing MDMA, their dosage levels, and the changing perceptions of purity. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 173(3–4):234–241
Posner MI, Raichle ME (1994) Images of mind. Scientific American, New York
Raven J, Raven JC, Court JH (1998) Manual for Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales. Oxford Psychologists Press, Oxford
Reneman L, Majoie CBLM, Schmand B, van den Brink W, den Heeten GJ (2001) Pre-frontal N-acetylaspartate is strongly associated with memory performance in (abstinent) ecstasy users: preliminary report. Biol Psychiatr 50:550–554
Reneman L, Booij J, Lavalaye J, de Bruin K, Reitsma JB, Gunning BW, den Heeten GJ, van der Brink W (2002) Use of amphetamine by recreational users of ecstasy (MDMA) is associated with reduced striatal dopamine transporter densities: a [123I]beta-CIT SPECT study—preliminary report. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 159:335–340
Ricaurte GA, McCann UD (1992) Neurotoxic amphetamine analogues: effects in monkeys and implications for humans. Ann N Y Acad Sci 648:371–382
Ricaurte GA, Yuan J, McCann UD (2000) (+/−)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (‘Ecstasy’)-induced serotonin neurotoxicity: studies in animals. Neuropsychobiology 42(1):5–10
Rodgers J (2000) Cognitive performance amongst recreational users of “ecstasy”. Psychopharmacology 151:19–24
Rogers RD, Monsell S (1995) Costs of a predictable shift between simple cognitive tasks. J Exp Psychol Gen 124:207–231
Rogers RD, Sahakian BJ, Hodges JR, Polkey CE, Kennard C, Robbins TW (1998) Dissociating executive mechanisms of task control following frontal lobe damage and parkinson's disease. Brain 121:815–842
Ruff RM, Light RH, Parker SB, Levin HS (1997) The psychological construct of word fluency. Brain Lang 57:394–405
Salthouse TA, Babcock RL (1991) Decomposing adult age differences in working memory. Dev Psychol 27:763–776
Sankoh AJ, Huque MF, Dubey SD (1997) Some comments on frequently used multiple endpoint adjustment methods in clinical trials. Stat Med 16:2529–2542
Solowij N, Hall W, Lee N (1992) Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstacy’ users and their experiences with the drug. Br J Addict 87(8):1161–1172
Solowij N, Stephens RS, Roffman RA, Kadden T, Miller R, Christiansen M, McRee K, Vendetti B (2002) Cognitive functioning of long-term heavy cannabis users seeking treatment. J Am Med Assoc 287:1123–1131
Strickland TL, Mena I, Villanueva-Meyer J, Miller BL, Cummings J, Mehringer CM, Satz P, Myers H (1993) Cerebral perfusion and neuropsychological consequences of chronic cocaine use. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 5(4):419–427
Stuss DT, Alexander MP, Hamer L, Palumbo C, Dempster R, Binns M, Levine B, Izukava D (1998) The effects of focal anterior and posterior brain lesions on verbal fluency. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 4:265–278
Thomasius R, Petersen K, Buchert R, Andersen B, Zapletalova P, Wartberg L, Nebeling B, Schmoldt A (2003) Mood, cognition and serotonin transporter availability in current and former ecstasy (MDMA) users. Psychopharmacology 167(1):85–96
Turner JJD, Godolphin M, Parrot AC (1999) Cognitive performance profiles of current and former “ecstasy” (MDMA) users. J Psychopharmacol 13:A24
Van der Linden M, Collette F, Salmon E, Delfiore G, Delgueldre C, Luxen A, Franck G (1999) The neural correlates of updating information in verbal working memory. Memory 7:549–560
Verdejo-Garcia AJ, Lopez-Torrecillas F, de Arcos AF, Perez-Garcia M (2005) Differential effects of MDMA, cocaine, and cannabis use severity on distinctive components of the executive functions in polysubstance abusers: a multiple regression analysis. Addict Behav 30:89–101
Verheul R (2001) Co-morbidity of personality disorders in individuals with substance use disorders. Eur Psychiatr 16:274–282
Volkow ND, Chang L, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Leonido-Yee M, Franceschi D et al (2001) Association of Dopamine transporter reduction with psychomotor impairment in methamphetamine abusers. Am J Psychiatry 158:377–382
Von Geusau NA, Stalenhoef P, Huizinga M, Snel J, Ridderinkhof KR (2004) Impaired executive function in male MDMA (“ecstasy”) users. Psychopharmacology 175:331–341
Wareing M, Fisk JE, Murphy P (2000) Working memory deficits in current and previous users of MDMA (“ecstasy”). Br J Psychology 91:181–188
Wareing M, Fisk JE, Murphy P, Montgomery C (2004a) Verbal working memory deficits in current and previous users of MDMA. Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp 19:225–234
Wareing M, Murphy P, Fisk JE (2004b) Visuospatial memory impairments in users of MDMA (‘ecstasy’). Psychopharmacology 173:391–397
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Montgomery, C., Fisk, J.E., Newcombe, R. et al. The differential effects of ecstasy/polydrug use on executive components: shifting, inhibition, updating and access to semantic memory. Psychopharmacology 182, 262–276 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0065-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0065-9