MAPS: Re: "Memory problems found in Ecstasy users"

["Per \"Zike!\" Carlbring" <peca6657@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

About the article (?) "Memory problems found in Ecstasy users"


>can have problems remembering what they have seen and heard, according to a
>report in the December issue of Neurology.





>Dr. Karen Bolla, of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore,
>Maryland, and colleagues administered a series of standard psychological
>tests to 30 Ecstasy users who had been abstinent for at least 2 weeks, and
>28 control patients who had never used the drug.

How did the research group come in contact with the MDMA-users? Had they been
arrested, and were forced to participate? This is very important, as the way
they got into the study could have an impact on their motivation to complete
the tests.

How was the control group matched with the quasi-experimental group? From what
population was the controll group? Boy scouts? 

What kind of "standard psyhological tests" were administrated? Short / long
term memory test?  Digits? Shapes? Words? There are so many "standard tests"! 


>Only patients who reported heavy use of the drug =97 400 milligrams or more
>per month =97 displayed deficits in verbal and visual memory compared with
>controls, Bolla's team reports. They also found that "the extent of memory
>impairment correlates with the degree of MDMA exposure.''

How big was the decline? Were the results statistically significant? On what
alpha level? Effect size? Power? Why was the most important left out? What
direction is the correation? -1? ;-) Again, whats the effect size!


>Men showed greater memory impairments with increasing dose than women did.

Compared with what? Same sex as in the controll group? What was the ratio
men/women in the two groups? Again, give us the result details!! This says
nothing!


>Memory impairments were also greater with increasing dose for those with
>lower intellectual abilities.

Usually some kind of memory tests are involved in the standard psycholgy tests
(W.A.I.S. etc). Naturally is you have a bad memory, your overall "IQ" will be
lower.



>Ecstasy users also had lower levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA),
>a marker of the neurotransmitter serotonin, in their spinal fluid.

Maybe a low 5-HIAA level is the cause for seeking stimulation, such as extacy
use and not vice versa!



>"We found that the more MDMA a person reported using, the lower (the) level
>of 5-HIAA. In addition, people with the lowest levels of 5-HIAA showed the
>most trouble with visual memory tests,'' said Bolla in a statement. "This
>suggests that Ecstasy has a dose-related effect on serotonin activity which=

Why relying on the persons subjective reports? Lets say heavy use really
impares your memory -maybe there is a statistical significant interaction
between the amount reported and the amount comsumed. Ie, the more MDMA you
have
used the more you over estimate your useage...


Per Carlbring
Swedish psychologist student (5th year at the University of Uppsala)  


===================================================================
Snail-mail: Carlbring, Kungsg 54 B, S-753 21 Uppsala, Sweden.
Phone: +46-18-692003 - Email: Per.Carlbring.6657@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
ICQ Online: 15919069
In Medias Res: http://www.imr.c64.org
Personal homepage: http://www.imr.c64.org/zike/
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