Recreational 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA) or ‘ecstasy’ and self-focused compassion: Preliminary steps in the development of a therapeutic psychopharmacology of contemplative practices

Introduction

Kamboj and colleagues situate their study in the context of two converging lines of interest: the well-documented pro-social, affiliative effects of MDMA (ecstasy) and the growing clinical use of compassion-focused psychological practices derived from Eastern contemplative traditions. Earlier research indicates that MDMA produces enhanced interpersonal relatedness and feelings of connection, plausibly via modulation of monoamine, oxytocin and vasopressin systems, while compassion-focused interventions can reduce negative self-referential processing such as self-criticism. High self-criticism is a transdiagnostic risk factor for a range of psychiatric disorders, and some people combine MDMA and meditative practices recreationally to pursue transcendence or self-soothing effects; however, systematic data on MDMA's effects on intrapersonal attitudes (self-criticism and self-compassion) are limited. The investigators therefore set out to provide a preliminary, within-subjects test of whether recreational ecstasy use influences self-directed compassion and criticism, and whether ecstasy augments the effects of an established compassion-focused psychological procedure (compassionate imagery, CI). They also examined whether dispositional factors—attachment-related avoidance and trait self-criticism—moderate any drug-by-psychological intervention effects. The study was conducted in a naturalistic sample of recreational ecstasy users, with the explicit caveat that tablet composition and dose were not biochemically verified.