Imperial College London
Alternate

Professor David Nutt DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FSB, FMedSci

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences

The Edmond J Safra Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology
 
 
 
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Contact

 

d.nutt

 
 
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Location

 

Burlington Danes BuildingBurlington DanesHammersmith Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Walpola:2017:10.1038/npp.2017.35,
author = {Walpola, IC and Nest, T and Roseman, L and Erritzoe, D and Feilding, A and Nutt, DJ and Carhart-Harris, RL},
doi = {10.1038/npp.2017.35},
journal = {Neuropsychopharmacology},
pages = {2152--2162},
title = {Altered Insula Connectivity under MDMA},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.35},
volume = {42},
year = {2017}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Recent work with noninvasive human brain imaging has started to investigate the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on large-scale patterns of brain activity. MDMA, a potent monoamine-releaser with particularly pronounced serotonin- releasing properties, has unique subjective effects that include: marked positive mood, pleasant/unusual bodily sensations and pro-social, empathic feelings. However, the neurobiological basis for these effects is not properly understood, and the present analysis sought to address this knowledge gap. To do this, we administered MDMA-HCl (100 mg p.o.) and, separately, placebo (ascorbic acid) in a randomized, double-blind, repeated-measures design with twenty-five healthy volunteers undergoing fMRI scanning. We then employed a measure of global resting-state functional brain connectivity and follow-up seed-to-voxel analysis to the fMRI data we acquired. Results revealed decreased right insula/salience network functional connectivity under MDMA. Furthermore, these decreases in right insula/salience network connectivity correlated with baseline trait anxiety and acute experiences of altered bodily sensations under MDMA. The present findings highlight insular disintegration (ie, compromised salience network membership) as a neurobiological signature of the MDMA experience, and relate this brain effect to trait anxiety and acutely altered bodily sensations–both of which are known to be associated with insular functioning.
AU  - Walpola,IC
AU  - Nest,T
AU  - Roseman,L
AU  - Erritzoe,D
AU  - Feilding,A
AU  - Nutt,DJ
AU  - Carhart-Harris,RL
DO  - 10.1038/npp.2017.35
EP  - 2162
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 0893-133X
SP  - 2152
TI  - Altered Insula Connectivity under MDMA
T2  - Neuropsychopharmacology
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.35
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/53238
VL  - 42
ER  -
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