Acute effects of MDMA on trust, cooperative behaviour and empathy : A double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment

Journal article

Borissova, Anna, Ferguson, Bart, Wall, Matthew B., Morgan, Celia J. A., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Bloomfield, Michael A. P., Williams, Tim M., Feilding, Amanda, Murphy, Kevin, Tyacke, Robin J., Erritzoe, David, Stewart, Lorna, Wolff, Kim, Nutt, David, Curran, H. Valerie and Lawn, Will. (2021). Acute effects of MDMA on trust, cooperative behaviour and empathy : A double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 35(5), pp. 547-555. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120926673
AuthorsBorissova, Anna, Ferguson, Bart, Wall, Matthew B., Morgan, Celia J. A., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Bloomfield, Michael A. P., Williams, Tim M., Feilding, Amanda, Murphy, Kevin, Tyacke, Robin J., Erritzoe, David, Stewart, Lorna, Wolff, Kim, Nutt, David, Curran, H. Valerie and Lawn, Will
Abstract

Background:
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is being actively researched as an adjunct to psychotherapy. It may be beneficial to trust, empathy and cooperative behaviour due to its acute prosocial effects.

Aim:
To test (a) the acute effects of MDMA on measures of empathy, trust and cooperative behaviour, and (b) subacute changes in mood three days after MDMA administration.

Methods:
Twenty-five participants (n=7 female), participated in this double-blind, repeated-measures, placebo-controlled experiment. Participants attended two acute sessions, one week apart. Each acute session was followed by a subacute session three days later. Participants received placebo (100 mg ascorbic acid) during one acute session, and MDMA (100 mg MDMA-HCl) at the other, with order counterbalanced. Participants completed the following tasks assessing prosocial behaviour: a trust investment task, a trustworthy face rating task, an empathic stories task, a public project game, a dictator game and an ultimatum game. Participants reported subjective effects. Blood was taken pre-drug, 2 and 4 hours post-drug, and tested for plasma MDMA levels.

Results:
MDMA acutely increased self-reported ‘closeness to others’ and ‘euphoria’ and increased plasma concentrations of MDMA. MDMA did not significantly change task-based empathy, trust or cooperative behaviour. Using Bayesian analyses, we found evidence that MDMA and placebo did not differ in their effects on empathy and cooperative behaviour. MDMA did not significantly change subacute mood and this was supported by our Bayesian analyses.

Conclusion:
Despite augmentation in plasma MDMA levels and subjective drug effects, we found no increase in prosocial behaviour in a laboratory setting.

KeywordsMDMA; empathy; prosocial; trust; cooperative behaviour
Year01 May 2021
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Journal citation35 (5), pp. 547-555
PublisherSAGE Publications
ISSN0269-8811
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120926673
PubMed ID32538252
Scopus EIDs2.0-85105733608
PubMed Central IDPMC8155732
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range547-555
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online15 Jun 2020
Publication process dates
Deposited04 Nov 2021
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Cannabis Dampens the Effects of Music in Brain Regions Sensitive to Reward and Emotion
Tom P. Freeman, Rebecca A. Pope, Matthew B. Wall, James A. Bisby, Maartje Luijten, Chandni Hindocha, Claire Mokrysz, Will Lawn, Abigail Moss, Michael A. P. Bloomfield, Celia J. A. Morgan, David J. Nutt and H. Valerie Curran. (2018). Cannabis Dampens the Effects of Music in Brain Regions Sensitive to Reward and Emotion. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 21(1), pp. 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyx082
Cannabidiol reverses attentional bias to cigarette cues in a human experimental model of tobacco withdrawal
Chandni Hindocha, Tom P. Freeman, Meryem Grabsk, Jack B. Stroud, Holly Crudgington, Alan C. Davies, Ravi K. Das, William Lawn, Celia Morgan and H. Valerie Curran. (2018). Cannabidiol reverses attentional bias to cigarette cues in a human experimental model of tobacco withdrawal. Addiction. 113(9), pp. 1696-1705. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14243
Amisulpride for very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis: The ATLAS three-arm RCT
Howard, Robert, Cort, Elizabeth, Bradley, Rosie, Harper, Emma, Kelly, Linda, Bentham, Peter, Ritchie, Craig, Reeves, Suzanne, Fawzi, Waleed, Livingston, Gill, Sommerlad, Andrew, Oomman, Sabu, Nazir, Ejaz, Nilforooshan, Ramin, Barber, Robert, Fox, Chris, Macharouthu, Ajay, Ramachandra, Pranathi, Pattan, Vivek, ... Gray, Richard. (2018). Amisulpride for very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis: The ATLAS three-arm RCT. Health Technology Assessment. 22(67), pp. 1 - 60. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta22670
Ketamine treatment for depression : Opportunities for clinical innovation and ethical foresight
Singh, Ilina, Morgan, Celia, Curran, Valerie, Nutt, David, Schlag, Anne and McShane, Rupert. (2017). Ketamine treatment for depression : Opportunities for clinical innovation and ethical foresight. The Lancet Psychiatry. 4(5), pp. 419-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30102-5
Anatomy of a Joint: Comparing Self-Reported and Actual Dose of Cannabis and Tobacco in a Joint, and How These Are Influenced by Controlled Acute Administration
Chandni Hindocha, Tom P. Freeman and H. Valerie Curran. (2017). Anatomy of a Joint: Comparing Self-Reported and Actual Dose of Cannabis and Tobacco in a Joint, and How These Are Influenced by Controlled Acute Administration. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. 2(1), pp. 217-223. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2017.0024
Acute memory and psychotomimetic effects of cannabis and tobacco both 'joint' and individually: A placebo-controlled trial
Hindocha, Chandni, Freeman, T. P., Xia, J. X., Shaban, Natacha D. C. and Curran, Helen V.. (2017). Acute memory and psychotomimetic effects of cannabis and tobacco both 'joint' and individually: A placebo-controlled trial. Psychological Medicine. 47(15), pp. 2708 - 2719. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717001222
Editorial : Reporting guidelines for psychopharmacology
Steckler, Thomas, Curran, H. Valerie, de Wit, Harriet, Howes, Oliver, Hoyer, Daniel, Lucki, Irwin, Miczek, Klaus A., Morrow, A. Leslie, Price, Lawrence H. and Robbins, Trevor W.. (2016). Editorial : Reporting guidelines for psychopharmacology. Psychopharmacology. 233(7), pp. 1131-1134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-016-4252-7
AKT1 genotype moderates the acute psychotomimetic effects of naturalistically smoked cannabis in young cannabis smokers
Morgan, Celia J. A., Freeman, T. P., Powell, J. and Curran, Helen V.. (2016). AKT1 genotype moderates the acute psychotomimetic effects of naturalistically smoked cannabis in young cannabis smokers. Translational Psychiatry. 6(2), pp. 1 - 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2015.219
Deconstructing the nature of episodic foresight deficits associated with chronic opiate use
Mercuri, Kimberly, Terrett, Gill, Bailey, Phoebe E., Henry, Julie D., Curran, Helen Valerie and Rendell, Peter G.. (2016). Deconstructing the nature of episodic foresight deficits associated with chronic opiate use. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 55(4), pp. 401 - 413. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12110
Are adolescents more vulnerable to the harmful effects of cannabis than adults? A placebo-controlled study in human males
Mokrysz, Claire, Freeman, Tom P., Korkki, S., Griffiths, K. and Curran, Helen V.. (2016). Are adolescents more vulnerable to the harmful effects of cannabis than adults? A placebo-controlled study in human males. Translational Psychiatry. 6(11), pp. 1 - 10. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.225
LSD enhances the emotional response to music
Kaelen, M., Barrett, F. S., Roseman, L., Lorenz, R., Family, N., Bolstridge, M., Curran, Helen V., Feilding, A., Nutt, David J. and Carhart-Harris, R. L.. (2015). LSD enhances the emotional response to music. Psychopharmacology. 232(19), pp. 3607 - 3614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-015-4014-y
Effects of immediate-release opioid on memory functioning: A randomized-controlled study in patients receiving sustained-release opioids
Kamboj, S. K., Conroy, L., Tookman, A., Carroll, E., Jones, L. and Curran, H.. (2014). Effects of immediate-release opioid on memory functioning: A randomized-controlled study in patients receiving sustained-release opioids. European Journal of Pain. 18(10), pp. 1376 - 1384. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1532-2149.2014.498.x
Effects of ecstasy on cooperative behaviour and perception of trustworthiness: A naturalistic study
Stewart, L. H., Ferguson, B., Morgan, C. J. A., Swaboda, N., Jones, L., Fenton, R., Wall, M. B. and Curran, H.. (2014). Effects of ecstasy on cooperative behaviour and perception of trustworthiness: A naturalistic study. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 28(11), pp. 1001 - 1008. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114544775
Prospective memory impairment in long-term opiate users
Terrett, Gillian, McLennan, Skye, Henry, Julie, Biernacki, Kathryn, Mercuri, Kimberly, Curran, Valerie and Rendell, Peter. (2014). Prospective memory impairment in long-term opiate users. Psychopharmacology. 231(13), pp. 2623 - 2632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3432-6
Benzodiazepines: Risks and benefits. A reconsideration
Baldwin, David S., Aitchison, Katherine, Bateson, Alan, Curran, H. Valerie, Davies, Simon, Leonard, Brian, Nutt, David J., Stephens, David N. and Wilson, Sue. (2013). Benzodiazepines: Risks and benefits. A reconsideration. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 27(11), pp. 967 - 971. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881113503509
Prospective memory and future event simulation in individuals with alcohol dependence
Griffiths, Alison, Hill, Robert, Morgan, Celia, Rendell, Peter Gregory, Karimi, Khashayar, Wanagaratne, Shamil and Curran, Valerie. (2012). Prospective memory and future event simulation in individuals with alcohol dependence. Addiction. 107(10), pp. 1809 - 1816. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03941.x
Neurocognitive function and schizophrenia-proneness in individuals dependent on ketamine, on high potency cannabis (skunk) or on cocaine
Morgan, Celia, Duffin, S., Hunt, S., Monaghan, L., Mason, O. and Curran, Helen. (2012). Neurocognitive function and schizophrenia-proneness in individuals dependent on ketamine, on high potency cannabis (skunk) or on cocaine. Pharmacopsychiatry. 45(7), pp. 269 - 274. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0032-1306310