A prospective longitudinal study shows putamen volume is associated with moderate amphetamine use and resultant cognitive impairments.

Background: Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) have become a critical public health issue. Animal models have indicated a clear neurotoxic potential of ATSs. In humans, chronic use has been associated with cognitive deficits and structural brain abnormalities.

A Longitudinal Study of Self-Reported Psychopathology in Beginning Ecstasy and Amphetamine Users: A Third Follow-up Evaluation.

Background: It is still unknown whether psychopathological symptoms found in ecstasy and amphetamine users were apparent before the first use or developed subsequent to its use.

Objectives: The present study presents the third follow-up evaluation of a longitudinal study to assess the nature of the relationship between ecstasy, amphetamine (AMPH) and psychopathology.

Methods: In this sample, 69 beginning ecstasy and AMPH users were followed over a period of 4 years.

Learning, Memory, and Executive Function in New MDMA Users: A 2-Year Follow-Up Study.

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is associated with changes in neurocognitive performance. Recent studies in laboratory animals have provided additional support for the neurodegeneration hypothesis. However, results from animal research need to be applied to humans with caution.

Smaller amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex predict escalating stimulant use.

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disorder. The identification of biomarkers that render individuals vulnerable for the transition from occasional drug use to addiction is of key importance to develop early intervention strategies. The aim of the present study was to prospectively assess brain structural markers for escalating drug use in two independent samples of occasional amphetamine-type stimulant users.

Interactions between specific parameters of MDMA use and cognitive and psychopathological measures.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relevance of different parameters of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use, including age of first use, cumulative lifetime dose and highest daily dose for predicting cognitive performance and self-reported psychopathology. Moreover, interactions between those parameters were examined. Ninety-six new MDMA users were interviewed to assess their drug use, and they completed a battery of cognitive tests concerning attention and information processing speed, episodic memory and executive functioning and self-reported psychopathology.

A longitudinal study of self-reported psychopathology in early ecstasy and amphetamine users.

Aims: It still remains unclear whether psychopathological abnormalities described in human 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine users (MDMA users) and d-amphetamine users (AMPH users) existed before the beginning of regular use or if they develop with ongoing use.

Objectives: The present study was conducted in order to assess this relationship and to overcome previous methodological shortcomings.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study in 96 beginning MDMA and d-amphetamine users between 2006 and 2011 with a follow-up duration of 24 months.

Motor Improvement and Emotional Stabilization in Patients With Tourette Syndrome After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Anterior and Ventrolateral Motor Part of the Thalamus.

Background: Since its first application in 1999, the potential benefit of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in reducing symptoms of otherwise treatment-refractory Tourette syndrome (TS) has been documented in several publications. However, uncertainty regarding the ideal neural targets remains, and the eventuality of so far undocumented but possible negative long-term effects on personality fuels the debate about the ethical implications of DBS.

Methods: In this prospective open-label trial, eight patients (three female, five male) 19-56 years old with severe and medically intractable TS were treated with high-frequency DBS of the ventral anterior and ventrolateral motor part of the thalamus.

Decision-making in polydrug amphetamine-type stimulant users: an fMRI study.

Qualitative poor decision-making and associated altered neuronal activation patterns have been described for the users of several drugs, amongst others for stimulants like amphetamine and MDMA. Deficits in decision-making might be caused by an augmented attraction to short-term rewarding properties despite negative long-term consequences, leading to rigid stimulus-response patterns. In the present imaging study, we investigated decision-making and associated neuronal activation in three groups differing in their exposure to amphetamine and MDMA.

Memory-related hippocampal functioning in ecstasy and amphetamine users: a prospective fMRI study.

Rationale: Recreational use of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]) has been associated with memory impairments. Functional neuroimaging studies with cross-sectional designs reported altered memory-related hippocampal functioning in ecstasy-polydrug users. However, differences might be pre-existing or related to the concomitant use of amphetamine.

A prospective study of learning, memory, and executive function in new MDMA users.

Aims: It is still unclear if cognitive abnormalities in human 3,4-methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine (MDMA) users existed before the beginning of use or if other confounders could explain the deficits. The present study was conducted in order to assess the relationship between beginning MDMA use and subsequent cognitive performance and to overcome previous methodological shortcomings.

Design: A prospective cohort study in new MDMA users between 2006 and 2009 with a follow-up duration of 12 months.

Medial prefrontal gray matter volume reductions in users of amphetamine-type stimulants revealed by combined tract-based spatial statistics and voxel-based morphometry.

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) refer to a group of drugs whose principal members include amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Worldwide, ATS are among the most common illicit drugs. Therefore, understanding whether and to what extent ATS exposure affects brain structure and functioning in recreational users has become a critical public health issue.