Kayla Chen

UWP 104F Hemstrom

Feb 25, 2019
Lit Review Research Proposal & 3 Sources
For my literature review, I am interested in how drugs are used in the treatment of mental
disorders. My guiding question will be: What effects does MDMA have on treating PTSD? In
the 1970s, MDMA was initially used by psychiatrists to improve psychotherapy and quickly
turned into a popular street drug. In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) declared
a ban on MDMA and classified it as a Schedule 1 substance due to its high abuse potential. In
recent years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started conducting clinical research
on the effectiveness and safety of MDMA to treat chronic PTSD. This research is important
because people with chronic PTSD exhibit symptoms for longer than 3 months, which is
detrimental to their mental health. This is significant because cognitive-behavioral therapies are
usually the most effective type of treatment for mental disorders, but MDMA may be a possible
breakthrough therapy with a higher effectiveness in assisting the treatment of severe, chronic
PTSD if cognitive-behavioral therapy is unsuccessful. Since MDMA is an illegal drug that is
used mainly recreationally, it is noteworthy that MDMA could possibly become legal for
medicinal use in the near future. The relatively new research on the relationship of MDMA and
PTSD is an exigency needed to help inform people with PTSD who are interested in potentially
taking MDMA as a new therapy treatment especially if their current type therapy is ineffective
them. Thus, the purpose of this literature review will be to inform people with PTSD about how
the effects of MDMA can be used to treat their PTSD.
In this literature review, I plan to introduce MDMA by discussing its history, legality,
and usage. I will then define what PTSD is and explore the symptoms, causes, prevalence, and
treatments of PTSD. I will link the topic PTSD treatments to how there is currently new research
on the potential medical usage of MDMA to treat PTSD. I will discuss biochemical changes in
the brain of people with PTSD. From there, I will describe the neurobiological effects of MDMA
and how the pharmacodynamics of MDMA affects the brain of people with PTSD using the
current research.After explaining short and long term usage effects of MDMA, I will correlate
these effects with the research that has been found on short and long term usage effects of
MDMA on people with PTSD. It will also be useful to discuss the how the effects MDMA
benefits those with PTSD. I will conclude this paper on how further research still and needs to be
conducted in order to deem MDMA as a successful psychotherapy therapy because of MDMAs
adverse effects and high abuse potential. To write this literature review, I will draw upon the
research conducted by others and use their research to help answer how the effects of MDMA
can be used to treat PTSD.
3 Sources

Green, R., Mechan, A., Elliot, J., O’Shea, E., Colado, M. (2003). The Pharmacology and Clinical
Pharmacology of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”).
Pharmacological Reviews, 55(3), 463-508. https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.55.3.3

Amoroso, T. (2015). The Psychopharmacology of ±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and

its Role in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Psychoactive
Drugs, 47(5), 337-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2015.1094156

Liberzon, I., Abelson, J. (2016) Context Processing and the Neurobiology of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Neuron, 92(1), 14-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.09.039