Ecstasy – the illegal "rave" drug that produces feelings of
euphoria and emotional warmth – has been in the news recently as
a potential therapeutic. Clinical trials are testing Ecstasy in
the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. But headlines
like one in Time magazine's health section in February –
"Ecstasy as therapy: have some of its negative effects been
overblown?" – concern Ronald Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., associate
professor of Psychiatry. His team reports in the May issue of
Neuropsychopharmacology that recreational Ecstasy use is
associated with a chronic change in brain function. "There's
tension in the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy between
those who think Ecstasy could be a valuable therapeutic that's
not being tested because of overblown fears, and those who are
concerned about the drug's potentially harmful effects," Cowan
said. "We're not on one side or the other; we're just trying to
find out what's going on in the brain – is there any evidence
for long-lasting changes in the brain?"