Merck's 3-Methyl Hydrastinine

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The origins of MDMA are often contradictory, and inaccurate information abounds, even within much of the scientific literature (Bernschneider-Reif, Öxler, & Freudenmann, 2006). According to Bernschneider-Reif et al. (2006), Merck Laboratory created 3-methyl-hydrastinine in the hopes of creating a methylated analogue of hydrastinine that would be similarly effective to the naturally occurring hydrastinine that had become rare and expensive. This early form of MDMA was included in patents filed by Merck in 1912, however, no purpose or medical use was indicated and research was stopped for economic reasons in 1927 (Bernschneider-Reif et al., 2006). Other than brief mentions in the 1950s and early 1960s, the substance would not make a mainstream …show more content…
(2001) found no significant effects of moderate MDMA use, however, heavy use was found to be associated with global decreases in serotonin transporters, believed to be a consequence of serotonin neurotoxicity, with women being more susceptible to “dose-related decreases in serotonin transporters” than men. According to Reneman et al. (2001) these decreases in serotonin transporters could be reversed, however long-term effects in the parieto-occipital cortex and occipital cortex is also a possibility. In their study of MDMA usage and the drug’s effects on mood and cognition, Parrott and Lasky (1998) found that even an acute dose of MDMA caused reduced memory ability, with user’s scores being significantly worse than those of the control group at every test session. These impairments to user’s memory remained apparent even in future sessions when the drug had not been administered and were more pronounced in the regular Ecstasy users than in the first time users (Parrot & Lasky, 1998). Parrot and Lasky (1998) also observed impaired visual search task performance following acute administration and slower visual scanning in regular MDMA users, backing up the warnings of Reneman et al. (2001) of possible long-term effects in the parieto-occipital cortex and occipital cortex. In tape recorded interviews, subjects under the influence of MDMA in Parrot and Lasky’s (1998) study gave various reasons their poor performance. There were reports such as their mind kept wandering while they were trying to complete the memory task, the shapes kept moving even though the subject knew they should not, everything moves too quickly to keep up, and that concentration and memory were extremely difficult (Parrot & Lasky,

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