Editing Serotonin (section)

===Entactogens===
{{See also|Entactogen#Mechanism of action}}

The [[entactogen]] [[MDMA]] is a [[serotonin releasing agent]] and, while it also possesses other actions such as concomitant [[norepinephrine releasing agent|release of norepinephrine]] and [[dopamine releasing agent|dopamine]] and weak direct [[receptor agonist|agonism]] of the serotonin [[5-HT2 receptor|5-HT<sub>2</sub> receptor]]s, its serotonin release plays a key role in its unique entactogenic effects.<ref name="DunlapAndrewsOlson2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Dunlap LE, Andrews AM, Olson DE | title = Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine | journal = ACS Chem Neurosci | volume = 9 | issue = 10 | pages = 2408–2427 | date = October 2018 | pmid = 30001118 | pmc = 6197894 | doi = 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00155 | url = }}</ref> Entactogens like MDMA should be distinguished from other drugs such as [[stimulant]]s like [[amphetamine]] and psychedelics like [[LSD]], although MDMA itself also has some characteristics of both of these types of agents.<ref name="DunlapAndrewsOlson2018" /><ref name="Nichols2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nichols DE | title = Entactogens: How the Name for a Novel Class of Psychoactive Agents Originated | journal = Front Psychiatry | volume = 13 | issue = | pages = 863088 | date = 2022 | pmid = 35401275 | pmc = 8990025 | doi = 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863088 | doi-access = free | url = }}</ref> Coadministration of [[selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor]]s (SSRIs), which block the [[serotonin transporter]] (SERT) and prevent MDMA from inducing serotonin release, markedly reduce the subjective effects of MDMA, demonstrating the key role of serotonin in the effects of the drug.<ref name="SarparastThomasMalcolm2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sarparast A, Thomas K, Malcolm B, Stauffer CS | title = Drug-drug interactions between psychiatric medications and MDMA or psilocybin: a systematic review | journal = Psychopharmacology (Berl) | volume = 239 | issue = 6 | pages = 1945–1976 | date = June 2022 | pmid = 35253070 | pmc = 9177763 | doi = 10.1007/s00213-022-06083-y | url = }}</ref> Serotonin releasing agents like MDMA achieve much greater increases in serotonin levels than SSRIs and have far more robust of subjective effects.<ref name="RothmanBaumann2006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rothman RB, Baumann MH | title = Therapeutic potential of monoamine transporter substrates | journal = Curr Top Med Chem | volume = 6 | issue = 17 | pages = 1845–1859 | date = 2006 | pmid = 17017961 | doi = 10.2174/156802606778249766 | url = }}</ref><ref name="ScorzaSilveiraNichols1999">{{cite journal |vauthors=Scorza C, Silveira R, Nichols DE, Reyes-Parada M | title = Effects of 5-HT-releasing agents on the extracellullar hippocampal 5-HT of rats. Implications for the development of novel antidepressants with a short onset of action | journal = Neuropharmacology | volume = 38 | issue = 7 | pages = 1055–1061 |date=July 1999 | pmid = 10428424 | doi = 10.1016/S0028-3908(99)00023-4| s2cid = 13714807 }}</ref><ref name="Marona-LewickaNichols1997">{{cite journal | vauthors = Marona-Lewicka D, Nichols DE | title = The Effect of Selective Serotonin Releasing Agents in the Chronic Mild Stress Model of Depression in Rats | journal = Stress | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 91–100 | date = December 1997 | pmid = 9787258 | doi = 10.3109/10253899709014740 | url = }}</ref><ref name="Marona-LewickaNichols1998">{{cite journal | vauthors = Marona-Lewicka D, Nichols DE | title = Drug discrimination studies of the interoceptive cues produced by selective serotonin uptake inhibitors and selective serotonin releasing agents | journal = Psychopharmacology (Berl) | volume = 138 | issue = 1 | pages = 67–75 | date = July 1998 | pmid = 9694528 | doi = 10.1007/s002130050646 | url = }}</ref> Besides MDMA, many other entactogens also exist and are known.<ref name="SimmlerLiechti2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Simmler LD, Liechti ME | title = Pharmacology of MDMA- and Amphetamine-Like New Psychoactive Substances | journal = Handb Exp Pharmacol | series = Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology | volume = 252 | issue = | pages = 143–164 | date = 2018 | pmid = 29633178 | doi = 10.1007/164_2018_113 | isbn = 978-3-030-10560-0 | url = }}</ref><ref name="Oeri2021">{{cite journal | vauthors = Oeri HE | title = Beyond ecstasy: Alternative entactogens to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine with potential applications in psychotherapy | journal = J Psychopharmacol | volume = 35 | issue = 5 | pages = 512–536 | date = May 2021 | pmid = 32909493 | pmc = 8155739 | doi = 10.1177/0269881120920420 | url = }}</ref><ref name="Nichols2022" />