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Easton, Neil. "3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstacy) neurotoxicity : role of thioether adducts." Thesis, Nottingham Trent University, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.272853.
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Childs, Kim J. "The Stabat Mater of Herbert Howells the agony and the ecstacy /." connect to online resource. Access restricted to the University of North Texas campus, 2006. http://www.unt.edu/etd/all/Aug2006/childs%5Fkim%5Fj/index.htm.
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Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Texas, 2006.System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Feb. 27, 2003, Dec. 10, 2003, Mar. 31, 2004, and June 15, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-86).
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Brown, John Anthony, and John Brown@anu edu au. "The pattern of memory and perceptual dysfunctions in recreational ecstasy users." The Australian National University. Faculty of Science, 2006. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20060407.155643.
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There is a growing body of evidence that the main psychoactive ingredient of the recreational drug ecstasy (methylendioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) causes lasting changes to the serotonin system in both animals and humans, including the hippocampus (involved in memory) and the occipital lobe (involved in visual perception). Previous studies have often found memory deficits in ecstasy users. However, the results have been far from consistent across studies. None of the methods used to date have adequately isolated the hippocampal component of memory from the contribution of other brain regions. Three memory studies were conducted in this thesis to clarify which components and processes of memory are in deficit in ecstasy users.¶
In the first memory study, ecstasy users (n=32) did not differ from non-drug using controls (n=29) on implicit memory (automatic non-conscious retrieval, as revealed by a stem-completion task), or explicit memory (conscious recollection, as revealed by stem-cued recall). In the second memory study, no significant differences were found between ecstasy users (n=30) and non-drug using controls (n=34) on tests designed to clarify the findings on explicit memory, or on two standard neuropsychological tests of long-term memory (prose recall and Auditory Verbal Learning Test) that allowed greater use of elaborative processing at study. In the third memory study, a number of tests were applied that differed in their elaborative processing demands, including the California Verbal Learning Test, Visual Paired Associates, and Verbal Paired Associates. Ecstasy users (n=32) had poorer recall, and made less strategic use of elaborative processing compared to both cannabis-using controls (n=33) and non-drug using controls (n=33). Also, on a novel test of elaborative processing (Verbal Triplet Associates), both cannabis users and ecstasy users had memory deficits on the first trial, but only ecstasy users had a significant learning deficit over successive trials. On the basis of the localisation of the components and processes of memory in literature, it was concluded that long-term memory deficits in ecstasy users may reflect changes in elaborative processes localised in the frontal lobes, or global deficits, rather than just changes to the memory functions of the hippocampus.¶
With regard to visual perception, no studies have been published to date that have examined MDMA-related changes to the behavioural functioning of the occipital lobe in humans. In the current thesis, this was investigated using the tilt aftereffect illusion. In accordance with expectations, ecstasy users had a larger tilt aftereffect compared to non-drug using controls (n=34). Unexpectedly, this result was only obtained for a subset of 12 ecstasy users (out of n=30) who had not used amphetamines in the recent past. It was concluded that the results for ecstasy users who had not recently used amphetamines were consistent with the proposal that ecstasy-related serotonergic changes in the occipital lobe broaden the tuning bandwidth of orientation sensitive neurons, and that the recent use of amphetamines appears to counteract that effect.
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McKim, Ross. "An investigation into the production and performance of danced pararituals as a numinous practice in the present secular period." Thesis, Durham University, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.326607.
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Verheyden, Suzanne Louise. "Psychopharmacological effects of +-3, 4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstacy') : mood and cognitive function in current and ex-users." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.252399.
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Daniel, Jollee Jaye. "Adolescent Methylone Exposure and its Effects on Behavioural Development in Adulthood." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5460.
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Originally developed as an anti-depressant and later available as a ‘party-pill’ in New Zealand, methylone is currently classed as an illegal drug. This is due to findings of its similarity in chemical structure to that of Ecstasy (MDMA). Methylone is a relatively new drug into which little research has been conducted. Consequently, no known study has investigated the long-term effects on behavioural development arising from exposure during adolescence. The present thesis therefore aimed to identify long-term effects of chronic adolescent exposure to methylone on adult anxiety-like behaviours. This was achieved by the use of 80 rats (40 males: 40 females) and exposing them to either a methylone or saline treatment for ten consecutive days. Two different treatment age groups (early versus late adolescence) were examined and to ensure adequate comparisons could be made, two control groups were utilised. All rats were tested during adulthood in four specifically selected anxiety-measure tests; the open-field, preference for the light side of a light-dark box, acoustic startle and responsiveness to the novel arm of a Y-maze. The results suggested methylone-exposed rats displayed more anxiolytic behaviours than saline-treated rats. In the open field methylone exposed rats exhibited less ambulation than controls and those treated in early adolescence defecated more while rats treated in late adolescence occupied the corners of the apparatus more exhibiting higher anxiety-like behaviours. Exploratory behaviours in the Y-maze were decreased in methylone-treated rats, and those exposed in early adolescence entered the novel arm less often. However, acoustic startle results suggested methylone-exposed rats were less anxious as evidenced by a lower startle amplitude than controls. Overall, the results suggested differences in anxiety-like behaviours between methylone-exposed rats and controls. It did not appear that being exposed to methylone in early adolescence resulted in vast differences in anxiety-like behaviours than if exposure began in late adolescence.
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Taurah, Lynn. "The acute and long lasting psychological effects of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethampethamine (MDMA, 'ecstacy') : a cohort study conducted during the period 2002-2007." Thesis, London Metropolitan University, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.555143.
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Rationale - MDMA is currently an illegally abused recreational drug. Non-human animal studies demonstrate that MDMA causes non-repairable damage to serotonergic neurons. As the acute behavioural effects of MDMA are similar between non-human animals and humans, it is plausible to suggest that the neurotoxic effects of MDMA will be the same in each group. Results from previous human research investigating the psycho biological effects of MDMA have been inconsistent. They have relied on limited sample sizes and lack adequate control groups. The overall aim of the present study was to examine behaviours associated with 5- HT including: sleep, depression, impulsivity, memory, and executive functioning. The study investigated 5- HT related behaviours comparing past and present polydrug MDMA users whilst controlling for other recreational drugs. Method - The study involved a total of 1399 participants split across 6 groups: non-drug control; nicotine/alcohol control; nicotine/alcohol/cannabis control; non-MDMA polydrug control; current MDMA polydrug and past MDMA polydrug. Participants were required to complete the following: demographic and drug history questionnaire, Becks Depression Inventory (Version II), Pittsburgh Sleep Scale, Barratt Impulsivity Questionnaire, Wechsler Memory Test (Revised), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and the Tower of London Test. Results - The study found that past and present MDMA users suffer from specific deficits in measures of depression (cognitive-affective subscale), sleep, impulsivity (attention and motor subscales) and memory (verbal, visual, delayed). Past and present MDMA users displayed problems in selected executive functions: planning; solution time; and number of errors. Interestingly, statistical regression analysis predicted that these deficits in executive functioning may be due to MDMA, (1) directly affecting other psychological processes: memory, impulsivity, and sleep, which indirectly affects performance on executive functions; or, (2) MDMA directly disrupts executive functions: planning, solution time, and number of errors. Discussion - The present study is the first and largest study to date to suggest that MDMA causes acute and long lasting changes to specific psychological functioning: depression, sleep, impulsivity, memory, and executive functioning; without recovery even after 5 years of abstinence. Future studies need to control for mood, sleep disturbance, memory deficits, and elevated impulsivity when investigating disruptions to executive functions in past and present polydrug MDMA users.
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Graser, Reinhard. "Simultane Bestimmung der Ecstasy-Verbindungen N-Methyl- und N-Ethyl-3,4-Methylendioxyamphetamin (MDMA und MDE) sowie deren Hauptmetabolite im menschlichen Urin mittels HPLC-FL/DAD /." Aachen : Shaker, 2005. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=013356203&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Austin, Kyle L. "The bondage of ecstasy." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1995. http://www.tren.com.
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Zimmermann, Petra, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Florian Waszak, Agnes Nocon, Michael Höfler, and Roselind Lieb. "Pathways into ecstasy use: The role of prior cannabis use and ecstasy availability." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2013. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-110187.
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Aim: To explore the role of cannabis use for the availability of ecstasy as a potential pathway to subsequent first ecstasy use.
Methods: Baseline and 4-year follow-up data from a prospective-longitudinal community study of originally 3021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years at baseline were assessed using the standardized M-CIDI and DSM-IV criteria.
Results: Baseline cannabis users reported at follow-up more frequent access to ecstasy than cannabis non-users. Higher cannabis use frequencies were associated with increased ecstasy availability reports. Logistic regression analyses revealed that cannabis use and availability of ecstasy at baseline are predictors for incident ecstasy use during the follow-up period. Testing simultaneously the impact of prior cannabis use and ecstasy availability including potential confounders, the association with cannabis use and later ecstasy use was confirmed (OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 3.6–10.9). However, the association with ecstasy availability was no longer significant (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 0.3–3.9).
Conclusions: Results suggest that cannabis use is a powerful risk factor for subsequent first onset of ecstasy use and this relation cannot be sufficiently explained by availability of ecstasy in the observation period.
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Zimmermann, Petra, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Florian Waszak, Agnes Nocon, Michael Höfler, and Roselind Lieb. "Pathways into ecstasy use: The role of prior cannabis use and ecstasy availability." Technische Universität Dresden, 2005. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A26818.
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Aim: To explore the role of cannabis use for the availability of ecstasy as a potential pathway to subsequent first ecstasy use.
Methods: Baseline and 4-year follow-up data from a prospective-longitudinal community study of originally 3021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years at baseline were assessed using the standardized M-CIDI and DSM-IV criteria.
Results: Baseline cannabis users reported at follow-up more frequent access to ecstasy than cannabis non-users. Higher cannabis use frequencies were associated with increased ecstasy availability reports. Logistic regression analyses revealed that cannabis use and availability of ecstasy at baseline are predictors for incident ecstasy use during the follow-up period. Testing simultaneously the impact of prior cannabis use and ecstasy availability including potential confounders, the association with cannabis use and later ecstasy use was confirmed (OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 3.6–10.9). However, the association with ecstasy availability was no longer significant (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 0.3–3.9).
Conclusions: Results suggest that cannabis use is a powerful risk factor for subsequent first onset of ecstasy use and this relation cannot be sufficiently explained by availability of ecstasy in the observation period.
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Bolanakis, Panos. "The ecstasy of transformation : self-transformation and ecstasy in Hesychasm and Theravāda Buddhism." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2017. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.743018.
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Pirona, alessandro. "An empirical investigation of the abuse liability of "Ecstasy" (MDMA) in regular ecstasy users." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.517001.
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Malbon, Ben. "Clubbing : dancing, ecstasy and vitality /." London : Routledge, 1999. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37568722m.
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Silverstone, Daniel Maurice. "The ecstasy of consumption : the drug ecstasy as a mass commodity in a global market." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2003. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2097/.
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This thesis is an examination of the drug, ecstasy. The central objective was to investigate the people who used the drug, where they used it and how it was dealt. In pursuit of this I undertook two empirical pieces of work, a series of interviews and an ethnography. The interviews were of two sorts, firstly a set of longitudinal interviews of middle class ecstasy users, first contacted when they had just began taking the drug and again when they had stopped. These interviews were supported by one-off interviews with three other groups with similar class backgrounds. The other part of the study was a nine month ethnography of a large London night-club, where the author worked first as part of the bar staff and secondly as part of the security team. This involved participant observation with an occupational culture which is hard to gain access to and observation of an under researched environment. The two studies are linked, as the club was typical of one that my respondents visited and both groups were linked by their intense involvement in drug subcultures. In the first half of the thesis I concentrate on occupational culture and illuminate how criminal activity was structured within the club. In the latter section I concentrate on how the respondents subjectively felt about their drug use. In the last part of thesis I put the rise of ecstasy into the context of British popular culture. On the one hand I argue that it could be posited as part of new dystopian trends, on the other I argue against this, instead characterising its rise as something more positive and more inevitable. However, I conclude that our current methods of regulation are antiquated and unequal.
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Thom, Katey. "Doing ecstasy in Christchurch: Ecstasy users' experiences in relation to drug regulation strategies in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6668.
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This thesis explores the relationship between ecstasy users' experiences in a variety of settings and drug regulation strategies in New Zealand. Fieldwork based, it presents the practices and knowledge utilised by a set of users 'doing ecstasy' in Christchurch. The research aims to both extend the sociological literature on ecstasy consumption and produce an analysis that could contribute to the development of harm reduction strategies in New Zealand. It accomplishes this primarily through interviews in which ten Christchurch users reflect on their experiences with ecstasy. This study is supplemented with participant observation within a number of settings in which ecstasy is consumed and quantitative analysis of forty questionnaires distributed through the social networks of those interviewed.
This study contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of sociological drug research and harm reduction policy through its exploration of three themes, production, fluidity and control. I argue that what ecstasy 'does' is neither completely socially constructed nor the direct consequence of the drugs' pharmacology. Instead, I demonstrate that experiences of ecstasy are produced and emerge as an effect of users' employment of specific practices and knowledge. From this perspective, users both 'make' and 'let' the effects of ecstasy occur. Users' practices and knowledge are seen as fluid with respect to time, space, people and place. Finally, users' strategies for controlling and managing their negative experiences of ecstasy are discussed.
This thesis demonstrates that users' experiences, practices and knowledges of ecstasy are constantly in flux, and considers the implications of this fluidity for harm reduction policy. Attention is directed towards local practices in specific settings and the relevance of locality and spatiality for drug-related harm. I conclude that harm reduction with respect to ecstasy demands a range of strategies by multiply positioned groups and individual actors. I argue that further detailed qualitative research into users' experiences of ecstasy would be beneficial in the development of harm reduction strategies in New Zealand.
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Rashed, Abdulhameed M. "Characterisation and profiling of ecstasy tablets." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2000. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6339/.
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In addition to identifying the presence of a specific controlled drug in an exhibit and measuring its concentration, forensic drug laboratories are requested in certain cases or as a routine to provide additional information that may be helpful to the investigation process. On the basis of their chemical and physical characteristics, seized drugs may be profiled and linked to common sources or routes of distribution. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the illicit drug production from cultivation to manufacturing and trafficking. Chapter 2 describes the role of the drug chemist and includes characterisation of seizures, that is identification, quantification, and comparison of illicit drugs. Chapter 3 provides a literature review of the different analytical methods used in the area of drug profiling. This project has been on the subject of drug profiling with focus on the ringsubstituted amphetamine, 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy as it is widely called. Among the main objectives of this study was the development and optimisation of a new extraction procedure, solid phase extraction, for impurities in seized ecstasy tablets. The instrumental analysis of impurities found in ecstasy tablets usually require a preliminary process to extract, isolate, and concentrate these impurities from the total tablet content. In the process, interfering materials are removed, and the required substances are concentrated into a solvent that is suitable for introduction into the instrument. Chapter 4 describes the development of a solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure and also an evaluation of a comparison procedure of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and SPE for extracting impurities in ecstasy tablets for profiling purposes. Solid phase extraction of impurities in ecstasy tablets proved to be more efficient than the traditional liquidliquid extraction. SPE provided impurity peaks with higher intensities than did LLE and a shorter extraction time. Another area of research was the use of infrared technology as an additional tool for profiling ecstasy tablets as seen in Chapter 5. Infrared method can serve as an elimination or screening step for gross clustering or grouping of exhibits. In chapter 6 the synthesis of MDMA using different synthetic routes to acquire authentic samples of impurities which are usually present in street samples were performed. These authentic samples were analysed and their mass spectra and retention indices were used to identify impurities in actual street samples to determine their route of synthesis. In chapter 7 ecstasy tablets confiscated within the UK were analysed to establish their route(s) of synthesis using the data of the authentic compounds synthesised earlier. The main contributions of this project were: 1. Developing a solid phase extraction procedure as an alternative to the conventional liquid-liquid extraction procedure. SPE provided extraction with no cross contamination of phases and no emulsion problem, as with LLE, due to the presence of fatty acids in ecstasy tablets. 2. Developing a simple and fast infrared method as a screening or elimination tool for ecstasy profiling. 3. Study of the synthetic routes of ecstasy samples within the UK with the aid of route-specific authentic impurity compounds synthesised in-house.
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Misopolinou, Anna. "Grotowski : ecstasy and initiation in performance." Thesis, Goldsmiths College (University of London), 2004. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.768240.
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Duzer, Marion. "Ecstasy : le point sur sa toxicité." Bordeaux 2, 1999. http://www.theses.fr/1999BOR2P046.
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Jones, Karen. "Tolerance to the behavioural and neurochemical effects of MDMA following repeated exposure : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1231.
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Lebsanft, Heike Birgit. "MDMA ("Ecstasy") in Tiermodellen des Morbus Parkinson." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2004. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=972748601.
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Macklin, Simon James-Ian. "A Debt to Pleasure: Ecstasy + Knowledge + Performance." Queensland University of Technology, 2002. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15823/.
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This performance-as-research project documents, both through linguistic and non-linguistic texts, an investigation of the materiality of performative knowledges and analyses Music Theatre as an ecstatic and hyper-erotic creator of these knowledges. By actively engaging in a performative translation of an historical Music Theatre work, this research investigates how ecstatic inscription creates materiality within the performative knowledges of Music Theatre, and aims to provide further substance to the discourse surrounding performative knowledges and their relation to the epistemology and methodology of performance-as-research.
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Lapachinske, Silvio Fernandes. "\"Quantificação de MDMA em amostras de ecstasy por cromatografia em fase gasosa (GC/NPD)\"." Universidade de São Paulo, 2004. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/9/9141/tde-05082004-162808/.
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Quimicamente, o ecstasy é a 3,4-metilenodioximetanfetamina (MDMA), um composto sintético com propriedades estimulante central e alucinogênicas. Algumas substâncias análogas à MDMA, já identificadas em comprimidos de ecstasy, são principalmente: 3,4-metilenodioxietilanfetamina (MDEA), 3,4-metilenodioxianfetamina (MDA), metanfetamina e anfetamina. Os adulterantes mais comuns, normalmente encontrados são: cafeína e efedrinas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi a validação de um método analítico para quantificar a MDMA em comprimidos e cápsulas de ecstasy, através da cromatografia em fase gasosa com detector de nitrogênio/fósforo (GC/NPD). Substâncias análogas à MDMA e adulterantes também foram identificados. Amostras de comprimidos e cápsulas de 25 diferentes lotes, apreendidos como ecstasy em São Paulo (SP), foram analisadas pelo método proposto. Desse total de amostras, 21 continham somente MDMA (84%) e apenas 1 delas apresentou MDMA associada com cafeína (4%). A concentração total de MDMA nessas amostras variou entre 30,9 e 92,7mg, resultando em uma média aritmética de 63mg.Chemically, \"ecstasy\" is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a synthetic compound with stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Some MDMA analog substances such as 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), methamphetamine and amphetamine have already been identified in \"ecstasy\" tablets. Caffeine and ephedrines are the most common adulterants also found. The aim of this paper is to describe the validation of an analytical method to quantify MDMA in \"ecstasy\" tablets and capsules. Gas chromatography with nitrogen/phosphorus detector was used in the method. Analog substances to MDMA and adulterant compounds were also identified. Samples from 25 lots of tablets seized in the city of São Paulo were analyzed. From that total, 21 showed only MDMA (84%) and just 1 of them presented MDMA plus caffeine (4%). MDMA total concentration in these samples had a variation between 30.9 and 92.7mg, resulting in an arithmetic average of 63mg.
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Sumnall, Harry. "Effects of a pre-treatment with a neurotoxic regimen of (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine upon five common recreational drugs of abuse." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250408.
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Fallon, John Kevin. "Stereospecific analysis and enantiomeric disposition of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in man." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.313776.
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Gittings, Dave. "The role of dopamine in the sensitised locomotor activating effects of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in rats : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1232.
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Schuster, Peter, Roselind Lieb, Christina Lamertz, and Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. "Is the Use of Ecstasy and Hallucinogens Increasing?" Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-99955.
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This report presents findings of a community survey of 3,021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years in Munich, Germany, carried out to determine the prevalence of use and abuse of and dependence on ecstasy, amphetamines and hallucinogens. The response rate was 71%.
Results: (1) In 1995, 4% of the male and 2.3% of the female respondents aged 14–24 reported the use of ecstasy. Ecstasy-related substances (amphetamines and chemically related substances) were reported by 3.6% of men and 1.6% of women. Hallucinogens were reported slightly less frequently by 3% of men and about 2% of women (LSD combined with others). (2) Compared to findings from a 1990 survey this constitutes a substantial, at least twofold, increase in consumption rate of both types of substances. (3) Among lifetime users of both ecstasy and related substances as well as hallucinogens about two thirds could be regarded as regular users. (4) The prevalence of DSM-IV abuse and dependence on ecstasy and related substances is about 1%, identical to rates of hallucinogen abuse and dependence. Findings also point to a significant dependence potential for both substances. (5) Furthermore, considerable overlap between the two substances was found.
Conclusion: Our study suggests a substantial increase in both the use of ecstasy and related substances as well as hallucinogens. The data further suggest that the increase is strongest in younger age groups, but the risk of first use of these substances continues to be present up to the age of 24 years. The higher proportion of women contributing to this increase is noteworthy.
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Andresen, Hilke. "Die Neurotoxizität von Ecstasy Untersuchungen zum möglichen Pathomechanismus /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2003. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=968639399.
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Shell, Christopher James Peter. "The origins of Christian ecstasy : a critical survey." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/265447.
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How far, and in what senses, was pre-Montanist Christianity ever ecstatic? We address this question in three stages: (I) How should the concept 'ecstasy' be understood, and ecstatic phenomena analysed? (II) In the light of this, how far are various types of experience familiar to the ancient (non-Christian) Mediterranean world to be und.erstood as ecstatic? (III) How are we to locate pre-Montanist Christianity within (or outside) this spectrum? The whole is intended to fill a gap by providing a classificatory basis for discussion of the place of altered states of consciousness in Christian origins. (I) Our first chapter, 'Ecstasy: Dimensions and Anatomy', is concerned with preliminary orientation. We briefly review the way that the topic is regarded within various disciplines, and argue that, because semantically it is possible to distinguish a variety of 'ecstasies', the best way to proceed is phenomenologically, in order to give due weight to the differences -and particularly in order to separate the genuinely entranced from the 'merely' enhanced. ' (II) In our next chapter, 'Ancient Mediterranean Ecstasies: Types and Levels', the aim is to assess various types of ancient Mediterranean experience, both collective and individual, which are candidates for the designation 'ecstatic', in order to see whether they intrinsically imply (or exclude) actual entrancement. It is found that in most cases either further subdivision of types or fuller specific analysis is required before such classification is possible. Nevertheless, because explicit phenomenological descriptions of altered states are generally fuller and more plentiful in the background to earliest Christianity t_han within it, a context is provided for the coming discussion. (Ill) Our final chapter, 'A Prehistory of Christian Ecstasy', proceeds to consider directly our central question. While concentrating on the primary texts, we do so in an arrangement which enables a critical survey of secondary literature on Christian origins to which any of the concepts 'ecstasy', 'trance' and 'altered states of consciousness' is/are central; discussions of related areas such as 'possession' and 'shamanism' are also acknowledged. It emerges that entranced states at the more energetic end of the scale are largely lilllited to initiatory contexts, whereas those which are more quiescent may well have been comparatively widespread, notably in prayer-related settings. Such a relatively nuanced answer would, if correct, help to confirm the necessity of semantic exactitude in any future treatment. We end by summarising our findings, and briefly drawing implications for how far some modern ecstatic Christian movements are in continuity with earliest Christian practice.
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Turner, Alexandra. "What is the difference between Ecstasy and MDMA?" Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 2016. http://arro.anglia.ac.uk/701011/.
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In society there is a discrepancy that has developed in what the public understands about what Ecstasy is, in relation to the term ‘MDMA’. MDMA, the abbreviation for 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is the chemical constituent that has most commonly been associated with the street drug known as Ecstasy. Though the use of Ecstasy was reportedly on the decrease, a new product has emerged known as crystal or MDMA powder. This is alongside new competing compounds entering the market, most notably Mephedrone. The research examined explores the changing perception around what the terms Ecstasy and MDMA represent, comparing their popularity and prevalence with that of Mephedrone. This was investigated using an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing methods drawn from social sciences and analytical chemistry. Two online social research surveys were employed to establish what the public knew and understood about the terms, Ecstasy and MDMA and the drug Mephedrone. The surveys included both quantitative questions regarding specific drug knowledge and qualitative questions which asked participants about their reasons behind selecting to use a substance. The surveys provided a social context and highlighted specific perceptions that were held about these drugs. The results from the surveys were compared to seizure data collected from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, which provided a timeline of the emergence and prevalence of the types of Ecstasy/MDMA and Mephedrone being seized. The perceptions were also compared to a qualitative chemical analysis of seized samples using Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). In the findings from this research there is a definite gap between what the public know and perceive about the terms Ecstasy, MDMA and Mephedrone. A key finding from this research is what is reportedly known about Ecstasy has not translated into what is known about MDMA. There is an observed disassociation between these two terms. Mephedrone, on the other hand appears to have fallen into obscurity post its media high of 2010. The responses to the social surveys indicate a clear preference for MDMA over ‘Ecstasy’ or Mephedrone, as the former is seen as being of better ‘quality’. The user preference was supported by the findings from the seiuzers recorded in Cambridge, with the new crystal form being the most dominant type seized post 2012 and Mephedrone seizures declining after its control in 2010. In reporting the purity of street samples, the public perception was again supported as the crystal materials contained a higher percentage of the chemical MDMA. This is the first reported study of the relative purity of the alternate forms of MDMA.
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Barrett, L. J. "Raman spectroscopy of illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.269165.
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Lieb, Roselind, Christian G. Schuetz, Hildegard Pfister, Kirsten von Sydow, and Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. "Mental disorders in ecstasy users: a prospective-longitudinal investigation." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2013. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-109967.
Full textAbstract:
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between ecstasy use and mental disorders in a representative sample of adolescents and young adults.
Method: Data for this investigation were drawn from the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) study, an epidemiological-longitudinal study in which 14-24 year-olds were examined prospectively over a period of about 4 years.
Results are based on N=2462 participants who completed the whole study period and for whom drug use behavior could be determined. Results: (1) Ecstasy users, compared with non-users, were at significantly increased risk of DSM-IV substance related disorders, including alcohol use disorders (52.6 vs. 15.6%; OR=5.6, 95% CI=3.8-8.1). Further, ecstasy users also had a higher risk of alcohol use disorders, when compared with users of other illicit substances (52.6 vs. 40.3%; OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.1-2.4). (2) Ecstasy users had significantly higher rates for almost all DSM-IV mental disorders examined when compared with non-users (any non-substance use disorder: 68.7 vs. 44.5%; OR=3.1, 95% CI=2.1-4.4) and compared with users of other illicit drugs (any non substance use disorder: 68.7 vs. 55.5%; OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.2-2.6). (3) Ecstasy users also reported significantly higher rates of prescription medicine use, though they did not use more medical services than non-drug users. (4) Analyses of temporal patterns of ecstasy use and disorder onset revealed that the first use of ecstasy was secondary to the onset of DSM-IV mental disorders in the majority of cases. Still, subjects with mental disorders at baseline also showed a significantly increased risk for initiation of ecstasy use during the 4-year follow-up period.
Conclusions: Care should be taken in cross sectional studies in interpreting mental disorder signs and symptoms merely as a consequence of ecstasy use, as ecstasy use might be associated with the use of multiple substances, and onset of mental disorder is more likely to precede rather than to follow use of ecstasy and related substances.
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Schuster, Peter, and Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. "Ecstasy- und Halluzinogengebrauch bei Jugendlichen - Gibt es eine Zunahme?" Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2013. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-117536.
Full textAbstract:
Auf der Grundlage einer epidemiologischen Untersuchung an 3021 Probanden im Alter von 14-24 Jahren (Ausschöpfung 71%) werden Prävalenz von Gebrauch, Miβbrauch und Abhängigkeit von Ecstasy, verwandten Amphetaminen und Halluzinogenen bestimmt sowie Gebrauchsmuster und Korrelate des Gebrauchs untersucht. Als diagnostisches Interview wurde das computerisierte und standardisierte M-CIDI verwendet. Ergebnisse: (1) 14-24jährige gebrauchen Ecstasy häufig (4% aller Manner und 2,3% aller Frauen), XTC-verwandte Amphetamine werden mit 3,6% (Manner) bzw. 1,6% (Frauen) etwas seltener konsumiert. Die LSD-Gebrauchs-Prävalenz liegt bei 2,8% (Manner) bzw. 1,4% (Frauen); verwandte Halluzinogene werden von insgesamt 1,5% der Befragten angegeben. (2) Vergleiche mit Erhebungen aus dem Jahr 1990 lassen eine erhebliche Steigerung (Verdoppelung bzw. Verdreifachung) des Konsums sowohl von Ecstasy und verwandten Präparaten wie auch von Halluzinogenen erkennen. (3) Die Prävalenz klinisch manifester Miβbrauchs– und Abhängigkeitsdiagnosen nach DSM-IV liegen in der Altersgruppe 14-24jähriger bezüglich Ecstasy bei fast 1%, bei Halluzinogenen etwas darunter. Das Verhältnis Gebrauchs-Prävalenz zu diagnostischer Prävalenz von zirka 6:1 läβt auf ein signifikantes «Sucht»potential dieser Substanzen schlieβen. (4) Altersrisikoanalysen lassen erkennen, daβ sich das Einstiegsalter für beide Substanzen in jüngere Altersgruppen verschiebt. Nur für Ecstasy läβt sich über alle Altersstufen hinweg ein stetiger Anstieg von Erstgebrauchsraten nachweisen, demgegenüber bleibt die Rate von Erstkonsumenten bei Halluzinogenen nach dem 18. Lebensjahr stabil. (5) Bezüglich Einstiegs-und Ausstiegsmotivationen ergaben sich für beide Stoffgruppen recht unterschiedliche Muster, die als Hinweis für die Notwendigkeit substanz-spezifischer Präventionskonzepte interpretiert werden. Folgerungen: Die Verbreitung von Ecstasy und Halluzinogenen bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen nimmt offensichtlich weiter in beschleunigter Form zu. Im Zusammenhang mit einem bislang häufig unterschätzten «Sucht»potential wird ein rapid wachsender Präventions– und Therapiebedarf absehbar, der für die Verhaltenstherapie eine besondere Herausforderung darstellt.
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Medina, Krista Lisdahl. "Ecstasy (MDMA) Exposure and Neuropsychological Functioning: A Polydrug Perspective." Cincinnati, Ohio : University of Cincinnati, 2005. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=ucin1112218607.
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Erives, Quezada Gladys Vanessa. "The Role of Metabolism in Ecstasy-Mediated Serotonergic Neurotoxicity." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195730.
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3,4-(±)-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a synthetic amphetamine derivative commonly used as a recreational drug. Although the selectivity of MDMA for the serotonergic system in rat and humans is well established, the specific mechanism associated with MDMA-induced neurotoxicity is not fully understood. The long-term neurotoxicity of MDMA appears to be dependent upon systemic metabolism since direct administration of MDMA into the brain fails to reproduce the neurotoxic effects seen following peripheral administration, indicating that the parent compound alone is unlikely to be responsible for the neurotoxicity. MDMA is O-demethylenated to the catechol metabolite N-methyl-α-methyldopamine (N-Me-α-MeDA) and N-demethylated to MDA by cytochrome (s) P450 (CYP450). Thioether (glutathione and N-acetylcysteine) metabolites of N-Me-α-MeDA and α-MeDA are neurotoxic and can be found in rat brain following s.c. injection of MDMA. Because multidose administration of MDMA is typical of drug intake during rave parties, we investigated the effects of multiple doses of MDMA on the concentration of neurotoxic thioether metabolites in rat brain. Administration of MDMA at 12-h intervals for a total of four injections led to a significant accumulation of the N-Me-α-MeDA thioether metabolites in striatal dialysate. In contrast, acute release of 5-HT concentrations was decreased. Since isoenzymes of the CYP2D subfamily (30% metabolism), and the CYP2B or CYP3A1 isoforms, catalyze the low and high KM O-demethylenation reactions, respectively, we subsequently examined the potential role of CYP2D1 in both a genetic and pharmacological model. The data is consistent with the hypothesis that systemic metabolism of MDMA contributes to MDMA-induced serotonergic neurotoxicity via the 20) generation of reactive metabolites. In both the genetic and pharmacological models of CYP2D1 deficiency, attenuation of MDMA-mediated decreases in brain 5-HT concentrations were in the same range (30-40%). Finally, we examined the contribution of various transporters using genetic and pharmacological models to investigate the mechanisms regulating the concentration of thioether metabolites in MDMA neurotoxicity. The data suggest that by regulating various transporters and brain concentrations of the neurotoxic thioether metabolites of MDMA, may subsequently modulate the degree of neurotoxicity. However, further studies are necessary to understand the precise mechanism by which Mrp’s and Oat1 transporters modulate MDMA-neurotoxicity. Taken together, these studies are consistent with the view that neurotoxicity of MDMA requires systemic metabolism to form α-MeDA and N-Me-α- MeDA by CYP2D6. Therefore, It is likely that neurotoxicity is mediated by the formation of systemic neurotoxic metabolites.
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Fox, Helen. "Cognitive and neuropsychological profiles of recreational ecstasy polydrug users." Thesis, University of East London, 2002. http://roar.uel.ac.uk/3558/.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of the current thesis was to investigate the neurocognitive functions of regular Ecstasy polydrug use in drug-free participants, using an integrated methodological approach. Study 1 included two groups of 20 heavy Ecstasy polydrug users; one that had complained of Ecstasy-related problems, the other had described no problems. The controls comprised 20 polydrug users who had never taken Ecstasy. All participants were compared on a range of cognitive tasks. Strategic working memory impairments in both groups of Ecstasy users were found to be as a function of dosage rather than self-reported awareness of problems. In study 2, the same Ecstasy groups were administered a series of structured questions regarding their drug use behaviour and life changes both prior to and following the use of Ecstasy. In contrast to the cognitive data, usage was less related to dose, and more to poor pre-morbid adjustment. In Study 3, a group of 20 Ecstasy polydrug users were compared with 20 polydrug controls on selected tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Ecstasy users demonstrated impaired short-term memory and showed trends towards impairment on several learning paradigms, whereas most measures associated with prefrontal functioning were unimpaired. Study 4 compared 22 Ecstasy polydrug users with 22 polydrug controls on prepulse inhibition (PPI). The blink reflex component of startle was analysed by recording electromyographic (EMG) responses to auditory stimuli. No group differences in response magnitude of PPI were established in either 60 or 70 dB prepulse conditions. Study 5 compared four groups of 14 participants: Long-term Ecstasy users (10 years or more), short-term Ecstasy users (up to 5 years), polydrug controls and a drug naive group. All groups were compared on selected tasks from the CANTAB, however, due to sampling problems only the data from the two Ecstasy groups was analysed. The long-term users showed increased memory impairment and selective executive deficits compared with short-term users. In conclusion, Ecstasy polydrug use results in selective shortterm memory and executive deficits. These impinge on certain learning processes, but appear to be relatively independent of robust attentional measures. In relation to executive functioning, moderate Ecstasy polydrug users showed few impairments on measures of strategic control and no deficits on measures of inhibitory functioning. They did, however, reveal visual, verbal and spatial short-term memory deficits. Compared with moderate users, heavy Ecstasy users demonstrated increased short-term memory deficits and increased strategic impairment on planning tasks. Broad anatomical interpretations suggest that moderate Ecstasy polydrug users showed a predominantly posterior and temporal/limbic profile of impairment, with a relative sparing of executive function. However, tentative difficulties regarding reversal learning, attentional learning and verbal fluency, suggest some specific problems associated with frontal circuitry. These deficits became more apparent in heavy and or long-term users.
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Wareing, M. "Working memory and executive deficits among MDMA (Ecstasy) users." Thesis, Edge Hill University, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439660.
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Meyers, Stephanie A. "Ecstasy use, impulsivity, adult ADHD, and unprotected anal sex." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1527333.
Full textAbstract:
Previous research indicates that ecstasy use is positively associated with higher levels of impulsivity and risky sexual behaviors. In addition, methamphetamine use, which is chemically related to ecstasy, has been associated with higher levels of adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. This study adds to the existing literature by investigating the relationship between adult ADHD symptoms, impulsivity, ecstasy use, and unprotected anal sex. Participants were recruited from the Center for Behavioral Research and Services in Long Beach, California. Adult ADHD symptoms were associated with unprotected anal sex among women, but not for men. Furthermore, ecstasy use was found to be associated with unprotected anal sex among men who have sex with men (MSM) but not for women or men who have sex with women (MSW). In addition, higher levels of impulsivity were associated with both ecstasy use and unprotected anal sex among women, MSM, and MSW.
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Marsden, Jill. "Ecstasy and annihilation in Nietzsche's philosophy of eternal return." Thesis, University of Essex, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.317702.
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Wallis, Robert J. "Autoarchaeology and neo-shamanism : the socio-politics of ecstasy." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.300822.
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Lieb, Roselind, Christian G. Schuetz, Hildegard Pfister, Kirsten von Sydow, and Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. "Mental disorders in ecstasy users: a prospective-longitudinal investigation." Technische Universität Dresden, 2002. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A26802.
Full textAbstract:
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between ecstasy use and mental disorders in a representative sample of adolescents and young adults.
Method: Data for this investigation were drawn from the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) study, an epidemiological-longitudinal study in which 14-24 year-olds were examined prospectively over a period of about 4 years.
Results are based on N=2462 participants who completed the whole study period and for whom drug use behavior could be determined. Results: (1) Ecstasy users, compared with non-users, were at significantly increased risk of DSM-IV substance related disorders, including alcohol use disorders (52.6 vs. 15.6%; OR=5.6, 95% CI=3.8-8.1). Further, ecstasy users also had a higher risk of alcohol use disorders, when compared with users of other illicit substances (52.6 vs. 40.3%; OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.1-2.4). (2) Ecstasy users had significantly higher rates for almost all DSM-IV mental disorders examined when compared with non-users (any non-substance use disorder: 68.7 vs. 44.5%; OR=3.1, 95% CI=2.1-4.4) and compared with users of other illicit drugs (any non substance use disorder: 68.7 vs. 55.5%; OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.2-2.6). (3) Ecstasy users also reported significantly higher rates of prescription medicine use, though they did not use more medical services than non-drug users. (4) Analyses of temporal patterns of ecstasy use and disorder onset revealed that the first use of ecstasy was secondary to the onset of DSM-IV mental disorders in the majority of cases. Still, subjects with mental disorders at baseline also showed a significantly increased risk for initiation of ecstasy use during the 4-year follow-up period.
Conclusions: Care should be taken in cross sectional studies in interpreting mental disorder signs and symptoms merely as a consequence of ecstasy use, as ecstasy use might be associated with the use of multiple substances, and onset of mental disorder is more likely to precede rather than to follow use of ecstasy and related substances.
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Schuster, Peter, and Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. "Ecstasy- und Halluzinogengebrauch bei Jugendlichen - Gibt es eine Zunahme?" Technische Universität Dresden, 1996. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A27025.
Full textAbstract:
Auf der Grundlage einer epidemiologischen Untersuchung an 3021 Probanden im Alter von 14-24 Jahren (Ausschöpfung 71%) werden Prävalenz von Gebrauch, Miβbrauch und Abhängigkeit von Ecstasy, verwandten Amphetaminen und Halluzinogenen bestimmt sowie Gebrauchsmuster und Korrelate des Gebrauchs untersucht. Als diagnostisches Interview wurde das computerisierte und standardisierte M-CIDI verwendet. Ergebnisse: (1) 14-24jährige gebrauchen Ecstasy häufig (4% aller Manner und 2,3% aller Frauen), XTC-verwandte Amphetamine werden mit 3,6% (Manner) bzw. 1,6% (Frauen) etwas seltener konsumiert. Die LSD-Gebrauchs-Prävalenz liegt bei 2,8% (Manner) bzw. 1,4% (Frauen); verwandte Halluzinogene werden von insgesamt 1,5% der Befragten angegeben. (2) Vergleiche mit Erhebungen aus dem Jahr 1990 lassen eine erhebliche Steigerung (Verdoppelung bzw. Verdreifachung) des Konsums sowohl von Ecstasy und verwandten Präparaten wie auch von Halluzinogenen erkennen. (3) Die Prävalenz klinisch manifester Miβbrauchs– und Abhängigkeitsdiagnosen nach DSM-IV liegen in der Altersgruppe 14-24jähriger bezüglich Ecstasy bei fast 1%, bei Halluzinogenen etwas darunter. Das Verhältnis Gebrauchs-Prävalenz zu diagnostischer Prävalenz von zirka 6:1 läβt auf ein signifikantes «Sucht»potential dieser Substanzen schlieβen. (4) Altersrisikoanalysen lassen erkennen, daβ sich das Einstiegsalter für beide Substanzen in jüngere Altersgruppen verschiebt. Nur für Ecstasy läβt sich über alle Altersstufen hinweg ein stetiger Anstieg von Erstgebrauchsraten nachweisen, demgegenüber bleibt die Rate von Erstkonsumenten bei Halluzinogenen nach dem 18. Lebensjahr stabil. (5) Bezüglich Einstiegs-und Ausstiegsmotivationen ergaben sich für beide Stoffgruppen recht unterschiedliche Muster, die als Hinweis für die Notwendigkeit substanz-spezifischer Präventionskonzepte interpretiert werden. Folgerungen: Die Verbreitung von Ecstasy und Halluzinogenen bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen nimmt offensichtlich weiter in beschleunigter Form zu. Im Zusammenhang mit einem bislang häufig unterschätzten «Sucht»potential wird ein rapid wachsender Präventions– und Therapiebedarf absehbar, der für die Verhaltenstherapie eine besondere Herausforderung darstellt.
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Roberts, C. A. "Neurophysiological correlates of ecstasy/MDMA use on executive functioning." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2014. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/4524/.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this thesis was to assess the integrity of the serotonin system, by measuring the neurophysiological response to tasks that measure executive functions, and neuroendocrine function in ecstasy users and non-users. Each of the proposed executive functions outlined in Miyake et al.’s (2000) conceptual framework (inhibition, switching and updating) as well as the addition of access to semantic/long term memory made by Fisk and Sharp (2004), was assessed using behavioural tasks in combination with EEG and fNIRS. Behavioural performance between ecstasy users and various controls (polydrug and drug naive) was equivalent throughout the thesis. However ERP analysis revealed ecstasy-related atypicalities in cognitive processing during inhibitory control, switching and access. Ecstasy users displayed increases in P2 and N2 components during these tasks that reflect recruitment of additional resources. A diminished P3 response during the switching task was evident for ecstasy users and polydrug users relative to controls. Regression analyses suggest that lifetime cannabis use may be an important factor for this function. Results from fNIRS suggest that ecstasy users show an increased haemodynamic response during all four executive functions relative to non-users, which suggests that ecstasy users are engaged in more effortful cognition than controls. Increases in neuronal activation whilst performing at a similar level behaviourally are understood as recruitment of additional resources. Again during switching cannabis use may have been an important factor. Another aim of this thesis was to assess neuroendocrine function. Ecstasy users displayed elevated basal cortisol levels relative to polydrug controls and drug naive controls. The results suggest that ecstasy is detrimental to the integrity of the HPA-axis. This thesis provides support for ecstasy-related damage to the serotonergic system and should be used in educating prospective ecstasy users of relative harms.
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Brewer, Benjamin. "Poetry and Ecstasy: Thinking Bodily with Heidegger and Bataille." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/19323.
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This essay explores the possibilities for thinking of the body as a site of exposure to and commingling with the world. I begin with Martin Heidegger’s engagement with the question of poetry as an encounter with the non-conceptual dimension of experience (earth). I then show how the disclosure of this non-conceptual dimension of experience in poetry requires an irreducibly bodily form of thought and experience.
In the second chapter, I turn to the work of Georges Bataille in order to explore the bodily experiences and meditative practices he developed in the decades around and during World War II. First, I examine his writings concerning eroticism and laughter to show how these bodily experiences exceed conceptual determination and explanation. Lastly, I look at Bataille’s appropriation of medieval mystic Angela of Foligno’s practice of stigmatic meditation as a discipline of bodily exposure.
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Aroso, Miguel Ângelo Mouta Martins. "Proteómica das glândulas lacrimais : estudo da acção da ecstasy." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/2995.
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Mestrado em Métodos Biomoleculares AvançadosAs lágrimas são de grande importância na saúde ocular, cite-se como exemplo o síndrome do olho seco (DES), que afecta milhões de pessoas todos os anos. A glândula lacrimal, principal responsável pela constituição das lágrimas, modula a sua secreção de acordo com estimulação parassimpática e simpática, sendo, por isso, afectada por medicação tópica ou sistémica. Assim, nos últimos anos tem havido um interesse crescente no estudo da composição proteica do fluido lacrimal e da relação dessa composição com diferentes estímulos da glândula lacrimal. A Ecstasy (3,4-metilenodioximetanfetamina, MDMA) é a terceira droga ilegal mais utilizada, depois da cannabis e anfetamina e é um composto simpaticomimético de acção indirecta, afectando a secreção glandular. O objectivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito, ao tempo de uma e 24 horas, da MDMA na expressão proteica da glândula lacrimal após administração aguda em rato e determinar a distribuição da MDMA em diferentes tecidos de rato. A MDMA foi quantificada, após hidrólise ácida e extracção em fase sólida das amostras, por espectrometria de massa (Triplo-Quadrupolo). Ao tempo de 1 hora, concentração de MDMA na glândula lacrimal é bastante elevada relativamente aos restantes tecidos. Para a análise da expressão proteica da glândula lacrimal e de forma a reduzir a complexidade do proteoma glandular efectuou-se o fraccionamento subcelular desta glândula, obtendo-se a fracção enriquecida do citoplasma. Esta fracção foi separada por 2DE e as proteínas identificadas por espectrometria de massa (MALDI/TOF/TOF). A comparação de géis 2DE, analise esta realiza com o software PDQuest, permitiu observar uma variação da abundância relativa, após administração de MDMA, de proteínas relacionadas com a defesa antioxidante, o metabolismo celular, a actividade proteolítica e a síntese proteica. A análise por microscopia electrónica de transmissão (TEM) revelou que ao tempo de 1 hora a MDMA provoca desgranulação das células acinares e alteração de várias estruturas celulares e da membrana citoplasmática, indicativo de stresse celular. Às 24 horas há apenas indícios de recuperação celular. ABSTRACT: Tears are of most importance in ocular health, as an example it can be considered the dry eye syndrome (DES) that affects millions of patients every year. The lachrymal gland, the main contributor for the constitution of tears, modulates the secretion accordingly with the parasympathetic and/or sympathetic stimulation. Therefore, it’s affected by topic or systemic medication. In the last years, there has been an increased interest in studying the protein composition of tear fluids as well as the relationship between protein composition and physiological variations. Ecstasy (3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is the third illegal drug more abused after cannabis and amphetamine and is an indirectly acting sympathomimetic, stimulating in this way the glandular secretion. The goal of this work was to evaluate the action, at time 1 hour and 24 hours, of the MDMA in the lachrymal gland protein expression after acute administration in mouse and evaluate the distribution of the MDMA in different organs of mouse. MDMA was quantified, after acidic hydrolysis and solid phase extraction of the different samples, with mass spectrometry (Triple-Quadrupole). At the time of 1 hour the concentration determined in the lachrymal gland is high when compared with other organs. For the proteomic analysis, in order to reduce the complexity of the glandular proteome, it was obtained a subcelular fraction rich in cytoplasm. This fraction was separated by 2DE and the proteins were identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF/TOF). By comparing 2D gels from different samples using the software PDQuest, it was observed that the proteins related with antioxidant activity, metabolism, proteolitic activity and protein synthesis, had a variation of the relative abundance when compared with the control, after the administration of MDMA. The analysis of the lachrymal gland by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that MDMA, at the time of 1 hour, stimulates the degranulation of the acinar cells and induces structural alterations of various organelles and the cytoplasmic membrane. This is indicative of strong cellular stress. At time of 24 hours after administration of MDMA it was observed some recuperation of the acinar cells.
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Davis, Alan Kooi. "Development and Initial Evaluation of an Ecstasy Craving Questionnaire." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1335999475.
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Brooks, John C. "Unity, Ecstasy, Communion: The Tragic Perspective of W.B. Yeats." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1988. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331259/.
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As a young man of twenty-one in 1886, William Butler Yeats announced his ambition to unify Ireland through heroic poetry. But this prophetic urge lacked structure. Yeats had only some callow notions about needing self-possession and appropriate control of his imagery. As a result, his search for essential knowledge and experience soon led him into occult and symbolist vagueness. Yeats' mind grew flaccid, and his art languished in preciosity for over a decade. Lotos-eating had replaced prophetic fervor.
However, early in the new century, as Yeats neared middle age and permanent mediocrity, he recovered his early zeal and finally found the means to give it artistic shape. Through daily theatre work he had discovered tragedy. And through personal trials he had developed a tragic sense. Hence, an entire tragic perspective was born, one that would dominate Yeats' mind and art the rest of his life.
Locating the contours of Yeats' shift in-viewpoint, then, provides the key to understanding the man and his mature work. The present study does just that, tracing the origin, development, and elaboration of Yeats' tragic perspective, from its theoretical underpinnings to its poetic triumphs. Above all, this study supplies the basic context of Yeats* careers why he took the path he did, and how he wove all that he found along the way into a remarkable fabric.
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Hatala, Elaine M. "Characteristics and Predictors of Ecstasy (MDMA) Use During College." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2008. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/882.
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Public HealthPh.D.
This cross-sectional investigation examined characteristics of ecstasy use during college and associations between ecstasy use during college and demographic factors, family functioning, mental health, and stage of change for ecstasy use. In addition a multivariate model was developed to predict characteristics of ecstasy use during college. An electronic survey was sent to all undergraduate students enrolled at a large urban university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States during the spring of 2007. Demographic factors and characteristics of ecstasy use were examined using standardized measures employed in national drug use surveys and by the World Health Organization. Measures associated specifically with ecstasy use during college were developed for this investigation. Family functioning was measured with the Parent Adolescent Communication Scale. Mental health was measured with the K6 screening instrument for nonspecific psychological distress. Stage of change was measured with a five-stage algorithm. The final sample for analysis consisted of 194 participants who reported ecstasy use during college and 2849 participants who reported no ecstasy use during college. Data were described using conventional descriptive statistics, chi-square statistics and non-parametric statistics. A logistic regression model was used to identify variables associated with ecstasy use during college. Based on the results, the following generalized conclusions were drawn: ecstasy continues to be used by college students at large urban universities in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States; because the majority of college students reported using ecstasy for the first time during college and also reported using ecstasy for up to two years, it appears that the college environment is a contextual factor for ecstasy use; lower family communication is associated with ecstasy use during college; psychological distress is associated with ecstasy use during college; being white (versus non-white), male (versus female) and having low or moderate (versus high) family communication each is independently associated with ecstasy use during college; differences in stage of change for ecstasy use among ecstasy users and the demographic profile of ecstasy users compared to non-ecstasy users suggest that prevention, education and intervention efforts should be designed to match the unique factors associated with ecstasy use during college.
Temple University--Theses
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Agostinho, Túlio de Castro. "Análise voltamétrica de 3,4-metilenodioximetanfetamina." Universidade de São Paulo, 2013. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/59/59138/tde-12122012-102825/.
Full textAbstract:
O propósito do estudo realizado foi de investigar o comportamento voltamétrico da 3,4-metilenodioximetanfetamina (MDMA), substância psicoativa do ecstasy, uma droga que tem se tornado cada vez mais popular entre os usuários de drogas. Empregou-se o uso da técnica de cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência, para isolar a substância a partir de amostras de ecstasy obtidas em parceria com a Polícia Científica de Ribeirão Preto, bem como a técnica de espectrometria de massas, para confirmar a presença da MDMA nas mesmas. Os estudos voltamétricos foram realizados utilizando-se um sistema de três eletrodos, sendo o eletrodo de trabalho de carbono vítreo, eletrodo de referência Ag/AgCl e eletrodo auxiliar de fio de platina. O comportamento eletroquímico desta substância foi investigado diante de diferentes modalidades voltamétricas: Voltametria cíclica, de pulso diferencial e de onda quadrada, nas quais se pôde observar um pico anódico em Ep = +1,1 V. Foram otimizados os parâmetros voltamétricos de modo a tornar a análise mais rápida e sensível, sem perda de intensidade e qualidade do sinal voltamétrico. Com os parâmetros voltamétricos otimizados, foram construídas curvas analíticas para o analito em questão nas diferentes modalidades voltamétricas estudadas. Foi possível determinar o teor de MDMA nas cinco diferentes amostras de ecstasy utilizadas, das quais quatro apresentaram MDMA com teores variando de 3 a 10% (m/m) e uma na qual não foi constatada a presença da droga, mas sim de outro fármaco, a lidocaína.The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the voltammetric behavior of 3,4-methylenedioxymethanphetamine (MDMA), the psychoactive substance of ecstasy, a drug that has become increasingly popular among drug users. The high performance liquid chromatography technique was employed in order to isolate the substance from ecstasy samples obtained in partnership with Polícia Científica de Ribeirão Preto and also the mass spectrometry technique was employed to confirm the presence of MDMA. The voltammetric studies were performed using the three electrodes system, being glassy carbon as the working electrode, Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode and platinum wire as counter electrode. The electrochemical behavior of the substance was investigated using different voltammetric techniques: Cyclic, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry modalities, in which an anodic peak was observed at Ep = +1,1 V. The voltammetric parameters were optimized in order to make the analysis faster and more sensitive, without loss of quality and intensity of the voltammetric signal. With the voltammetric parameters optimized, analytical curves of the studied analyte were built for the different voltammetric techniques. It was possible to determine the content of MDMA in the five different ecstasy samples utilized, in which four showed MDMA with contents ranging from 3 to 10% (m/m) and one in which no MDMA was observed but another drug, lidocaine.
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Reif, Stefanie Jessica. "Gibt es Faktoren in Persönlichkeit und Psyche, die zu einem Ecstasy-Konsum prädisponieren? Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Ecstasy-Risikofragebogens bei 14 - 15-Jährigen /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2005. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=976371901.
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