PERSISTENT EFFECTS OF (+ -)3,4-METHYLENEDIOXYMETHAMPHETAMINE (MDMA, ECSTASY) ON HUMAN SLEEP/

(+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a recreational drug o f abuse which damages serotonin neurons in animals. It is not known wh ether MDMA is also neurotoxic in humans, and if so, whether there are functional consequences. Given the putative role of serotonin in sleep , it was hypothesized that one manifestation of serotonin neurotoxicit y in humans might be disturbances of sleep. To determine whether MDMA use has effects on sleep, all-night polysomnograms of 23 MDMA users we re compared to those of 22 age- and sex-matched controls. On average, MDMA users had 19 minutes less total sleep and 23.2 minutes less non-R EM (NREM) sleep than controls. These statistically significant differe nces in NREM sleep were due primarily to an average of 37 minutes less stage 2 sleep, with no significant differences noted in stages 1, 3 o r 4. Although it is not known whether the alterations in sleep observe d in MDMA users are due to serotonin neurotoxicity, the present findin gs suggest that MDMA use can lead to persistent changes in CNS structu res involved in human sleep generation.