BBC and Italian scientists conclude: "Music intensifies ecstasy effects"
The BBC and Italian scientists conclude: "Music intensifies ecstasy effects". Ravers globally fall about with shock...
Ecstasy is linked to dance culture Listening to loud music exacerbates the effects on the brain of taking ecstasy, researchers have found.
Italian scientists gave the drug to rats who were then exposed to music at nightclub noise levels.
The researchers measured the electrical activity in therats' brains and found that noise prolonged the effects of ecstasy byup to five days.
Experts said the study, published in the Biomed Central Neuroscience, showed music worsened users' "comedown".
Thisresearch suggests that exposure to loud music may worsen the comedownbut it is unclear how this may contribute to longer term effects
Martin Barnes, Drugscope
Ecstasy is usually taken by clubbers - who are in an environment full of flashing lights and loud music.
The drug produces feelings of euphoria and energy, and a desire to socialise.
But there is mounting evidence from both animal andhuman studies that it may damage nerve pathways in the brain. Long termuse has been linked to memory loss and depression.
Experts have suggested that loud music may also affect higher brain functions.
'More potent'
The researchers, from the Institute of NeurologicalScience in Catanzaro, found low doses of ecstasy did not modify thebrain activity of rats if no music was played.
But total electrical brain activity in the animalssignificantly decreased in the presence of loud music, selected tomimic levels commonly found in clubs.
High doses of ecstasy reduced brain activity evenwithout noise, but the effect was enhanced by loud music and lasted forup to five days after the drug was administered.
In rats given a high dose of ecstasy but not exposed to music, brain activity returned to normal in one day.
Dr Michelangelo Iannone, who led the research, said inBMC Neuroscience that the effects of the drug could be made more potent"by relatively common environmental factors" and stressed the"potential danger for man of substances that have been so 'popularly'accepted as relatively 'safe' owing to their 'short term' effects."
Home Office figures published in October last yearshowed that an estimated 2m people aged 16 to 59 had used ecstasy intheir lifetime, and 556,000 had used it in the previous month.
Around 10 deaths are linked to ecstasy use each year.