Volume 11, Issue 4 (July & August - Special Issue on Memory, Reward & Stress 2020)                   BCN 2020, 11(4): 457-464 | Back to browse issues page


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1- Endometrium and Endometriosis Research Centre, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
2- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3- Researcher of Subsance Abuse and Dependence Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
4- Department of Anatomy, Neurophysiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
5- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
6- Department of Anatomy, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:  
Introduction: The administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy causes memory impairment, whereas neurogenesis improves memory and learning. Hence, this study evaluated the effects of MDMA on neurogenesis in the hippocampus of male rats.
Methods: Adult male Wistar rats received Intraperitoneal (IP) injections of MDMA (10 mg/kg). We assessed nestin, sex-determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2), and NeuroD expressions according to the immunohistochemistry analyses. 
Results: MDMA reduced the expressions of nestin, Sox2, and NeuroD compared with the control groups. The reduction in NeuroD expression was age-related. 
Conclusion: MDMA possibly has negative effects on neurogenesis, which specifically results from impaired survival of newborn cells.
Type of Study: Original | Subject: Behavioral Neuroscience
Received: 2018/06/27 | Accepted: 2019/02/19 | Published: 2020/07/1

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