José Miñarro, lead author of the study and coordinator of the Psychobiology of Drug Addiction group at UV, commented: "Although MDMA and cocaine are psychoactive substances frequently used by teenagers, very few studies have been done to analyse the short and long-term consequences of joint exposure to these drugs."
Miñarro and colleagues studied the joint consumption of different drugs in order to examine any interactive effects. Over an eight-day period, the researchers administered MDMA, cocaine and saline solution to adolescent mice.
According to Miñarro, "The animals exhibited an increase in vulnerability to re-establishing behaviour (relapse), showing a preference for certain environments previously associated with the pleasant effects of the drug."
The results of the study emphasize that "reinforcing effects" are more prominent in mice exposed to cocaine and MDMA in adolescence than in mice not exposed to these drugs during adolescence.
As Miñarro explained, "Adolescence is a critical stage in development, during which time drug consumption affects plastic cerebral processes in ways that cause changes that persist right through to adulthood."
(Source: sciencedaily.com)
Labels: cocaine, ecstasy, drug addiction
Posted By: Aspen Education Group