The Herald Sun reports that, while Ecstasy may lead to feelings of ecstatic union with others in the short term, over time it can lead to social withdrawal.
But Dr [Iain] McGregor, [of the University of Sydney] said long-term studies of rats given ecstasy found they eventually became anti-social, depressed, anxious and stressed.
"They didn't interact with new rats that they met in the way that a normal rat that's never had ecstasy would," he said.
The anti-social effects occurred even after relatively brief exposure to ecstasy.
Ecstasy releases oxytocin, so McGregor will next look specifically at that interaction.
Evidently, the ability to produce many neuropeptides can be weakened over time by overactivity, in the same way that the pancreas may lose its ability to produce insulin, leading to Type 2 diabetes.
