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 x7x_x7x
working on it
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 A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan 
#16875220 - 09/19/12 04:16 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22280-a-real-fmri-high-my-ecstasy-brain-scan.html
Our reporter experience the highs, lows and psychedelic purple doors involved in taking MDMA while having his brain scanned
See more in our gallery: "A wide-eyed view on being high inside an fMRI"
My usual pick-me-up on a Monday morning is a cup of coffee. Today it's going to be something very different.
I've been up since 6 am. I've had a breath test for alcohol, a urine test for drugs and a psychological test for mental health. Then I'm handed a red pill and a glass of water. I swallow it… and I'm told to relax. Which is easier said than done when you don't know if you've just taken vitamin C or 83 milligrams of pure MDMA.
Half an hour later I'm inside an fMRI brain scanner, my head clamped in place and a visor over my face. It's noisy and claustrophobic but I'm reassured by the panic button in my hand and a voice from the control room.
And then I start to feel it. A tingle of energy, like pins and needles, starts in the pit of my stomach and rises slowly, not unpleasant but not exactly pleasurable either. It builds in intensity, then breaks into a wave of bliss. The placebo effect can be powerful but when it happens again, I'm in no doubt. I'm coming up.
I'm taking part in a groundbreaking study on MDMA, the drug commonly known as ecstasy. The research is run by David Nutt of Imperial College London, a former government adviser and one of the few UK researchers licensed to study class-A drugs.
His main aim is to discover what MDMA does to the human brain, something that, remarkably, has never been done before. A second goal is to study MDMA as a therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. The experiment is also being filmed for a Channel 4 documentary called Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial, which will be broadcast in the UK next week.
Over the next hour I ride ferocious surges of serotonin that balloon me higher and higher, while trying to focus on a series of tasks. The fMRI machine is going through its repertoire of rackets – rhythmic clankings, throaty roars and what sounds like organ music. At times I feel amazing, at others panicky. Keeping my head still is very, very hard. But I ride it out.
When I'm pulled out 90 minutes later, the drug effects have plateaued. My mind is clear, my movement feels smooth and, aside from some jaw clenching, I feel content and sociable. And surprisingly psychedelic: a purple door is throbbing before my eyes.
I perform psychological tests, but my heart isn't in it. I'm more interested in chatting to the psychologists, doctors, nurses and porters. Finally I head home, and wake up the following day feeling pretty good.
Robin Carhart-Harris, a member of Nutt's team, later tells me they have now scanned 23 brains and have some preliminary results. While inside the machine, one of the tasks involved thinking about five of my most positive and negative memories. I rated these in terms of their vividness and associated emotion during the high and later that day.
The hypothesis was that MDMA would make the negative memories less painful. "We saw a boosted brain response to positive memories, and a weaker response to negative ones," says Carhart-Harris. "It fits the idea that MDMA can help people access negative memories without being overwhelmed by them and they might be able to change the way they feel about what happened."
A week after my first scan I return to go through the same procedure. As I swallow the pill I wonder briefly if last week was some kind of amazing placebo effect.
It wasn't.
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growing a dream
SuctoSpore® Pictorial Tek
 
x7x_x7x@shroomery.org
thomastheimer@tormail.org
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Infinitys Minute
a universe inside each moment
Registered: 11/02/11
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: x7x_x7x]
#16875388 - 09/19/12 04:50 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Very cool man, always interested in hearing about this kind of stuff.
I was once talking to someone on an online game that was a part of testing ketamine for treating depression... didn't believe him at first but his story checked out and it turned out to be a very interesting conversation.
The logic that because a drug is enjoyable and has the potential for recreational use it should not be used to try and help people is just stupid.
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Ojom
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Wow, I wonder why they chose to conduct those tests on a weekly basis. Maybe they should have read some of the recreational users reports in regards to what weekly dosing of MDMA yields and spaced those trials out a bit more.
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 Sheekle
Extreme Drama Whore
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: Ojom]
#16875603 - 09/19/12 05:45 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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83 milligrams of pure mdma who woulda thunk
"mdma" nowadays is such shit a dissapointingly high percentage of the time
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
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bear jesus
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: Sheekle]
#16875712 - 09/19/12 06:11 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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So happy that this is happening.
Quote:
Sheekle said:
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
I'm rather drunk please clarify what you mean by the .2 etc numbers.
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The pastafarian Jesus.
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Hashishins
Mind Manifesting
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: bear jesus]
#16875955 - 09/19/12 07:05 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Quote:
bear jesus said:
So happy that this is happening.
Quote:
Sheekle said:
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
I'm rather drunk please clarify what you mean by the .2 etc numbers.
he is talkin about mg's (.7mgs) ingested
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psyconaught
Licker of toads
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: Hashishins]
#16876027 - 09/19/12 07:21 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Quote:
Hashishins said:
Quote:
bear jesus said:
So happy that this is happening.
Quote:
Sheekle said:
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
I'm rather drunk please clarify what you mean by the .2 etc numbers.
he is talkin about mg's (.7mgs) ingested
you mean .7grams witch is equal to 700mg
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Think for yourself, question authority
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bear jesus
long time lurker
Registered: 07/31/09
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: psyconaught]
#16876065 - 09/19/12 07:30 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Thank you both.
I never met anyone consuming pills or MDMA powder that knew of dosage other than number of pills or lines... I guess from what Sheekle said i am glad as the responses were always relative to the batch and the person saying it probably gave a better guesstimate of how much to take (even if it was not MDMA) but the full on unknown of the substance or amount makes me indifferent to consuming more now but further research in to MDMA makes me o happy a the time i think may have been real MDMA were amazing positive life changing experiences to me.
Once again so happy more public research is being done in to its effects.
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The pastafarian Jesus.
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Godluck
Demon
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: x7x_x7x]
#16876205 - 09/19/12 07:59 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Wait, so the reporter didn't lose his mind? He wasn't instantly converted to a worshiper of the Dark Lord?
That musta been a placebo. Psychedelics are definitely evil.
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elementnature
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: Godluck]
#16876408 - 09/19/12 08:28 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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This is a very cool and inspiring story even though I have never done actual ecstasy, or MDMA, just MDA. Basically I've done molly but not E.
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danlennon3
LivingIsEasyWithEyesClosed.....
Registered: 10/29/02
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: elementnature]
#16876807 - 09/19/12 09:50 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
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"Psychedelics should be used not to escape reality, but to embrace it"
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psyconaught
Licker of toads
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: danlennon3]
#16876826 - 09/19/12 09:53 PM (7 months, 25 days ago) |
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Quote:
danlennon3 said:
The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
i feel like i should correct you to avoid confusion with people who are inexperienced. its .083 GRAMS not milligrams
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Think for yourself, question authority
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tripp23
Kratom Freak
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: psyconaught]
#16877931 - 09/20/12 01:16 AM (7 months, 24 days ago) |
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Quote:
psyconaught said:
Quote:
danlennon3 said:
The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
i feel like i should correct you to avoid confusion with people who are inexperienced. its .083 GRAMS not milligrams
now.. im usually good with math but i never seen this one before.. .083 GRAMS? is that 83 grams? what would 1.000 be then?
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"take thy medicine you filthy swine and you'll see that the world is in fact divine!"
Where does the world go when we close our eyes?
Experience my nightmarish first time of smoking Ganja!
 SAVE KRATOM FROM DAMNATION!
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psyconaught
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: tripp23]
#16878017 - 09/20/12 01:39 AM (7 months, 24 days ago) |
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Quote:
tripp23 said:
Quote:
psyconaught said:
Quote:
danlennon3 said:
The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
i feel like i should correct you to avoid confusion with people who are inexperienced. its .083 GRAMS not milligrams
now.. im usually good with math but i never seen this one before.. .083 GRAMS? is that 83 grams? what would 1.000 be then?
one gram is 1000 milligrams, .1 grams is one hundred milligrams, therefore .083 grams would be 83 milligrams 
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Think for yourself, question authority
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tripp23
Kratom Freak
Registered: 05/22/08
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: psyconaught]
#16878330 - 09/20/12 03:04 AM (7 months, 24 days ago) |
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 duhh.. thanks lol needed a refresher apparently..
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"take thy medicine you filthy swine and you'll see that the world is in fact divine!"
Where does the world go when we close our eyes?
Experience my nightmarish first time of smoking Ganja!
SAVE KRATOM FROM DAMNATION!
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5HTSynaptrip
Dopamine Enthusiast
Registered: 09/14/08
Posts: 4,353
Loc: USA
Last seen: 1 month, 4 days
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: tripp23]
#16878932 - 09/20/12 10:06 AM (7 months, 24 days ago) |
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Can't wait for this to be published. I'm pretty sure the criteria had to be strict for inclusion, so all of these people probably had virgin brains. It's a shame they're wasting their first(assuming their first) time on MDMA strapped to a noisy machine. The only way I'd do it is if I had some smoking hot research assistant riding my dick reserve cowgirl. 
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Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. - My hero, who will be forever remembered, Carl Sagan.
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Absent Minded
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: danlennon3]
#16878947 - 09/20/12 10:13 AM (7 months, 24 days ago) |
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Quote:
Sheekle said:
83 milligrams of pure mdma who woulda thunk
"mdma" nowadays is such shit a dissapointingly high percentage of the time
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
very true, such a drag.
Quote:
danlennon3 said:
The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
I guess that's true as well. I've taken mdma and just been feeling like "alright, I'm kinda rolling, this is pretty good but honestly I feel like a waste of money..." I"m always after the "HOLY FUCK I AM ROLLING TITS"  .
but very rarely do I get that, because spending $45 on one drug experience to get a .5 because mol is such trash around here, is not worth it to me.
--------------------
sheekle: fuck peace love and unity
sheekle: death despair and misery
sheekle: is where it's
"Foremost among them was the suspicion that my strange and ungovernable instincts might do me in before I had a chance to get rich. No matter how much I wanted all those things that I needed money to buy, there was some devilish current pushing me off in another direction – toward anarchy and poverty and craziness. That maddening delusion that a man can lead a decent life without hiring himself out as a Judas Goat." - The good Doctor
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Ojom
member
Registered: 10/28/99
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Re: A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan [Re: Absent Minded]
#16884872 - 09/21/12 07:29 AM (7 months, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
Absent Minded said:
Quote:
Sheekle said:
83 milligrams of pure mdma who woulda thunk
"mdma" nowadays is such shit a dissapointingly high percentage of the time
i've had multiple people tell me dumbass shit like: "yea dude it takes .7 to get a good roll" and "naw man .2 isn't enough to feel it when you take molly" "yea me and my girl split .5 it was really weak i think with molly you need to take .5 to yourself to get a good roll going"
very true, such a drag.
Quote:
danlennon3 said:
The reason people take larger doses, even if it is pure MDMA is because they wanna get that overwhelming rush of euphoria. Doses at .083mg like the one used in this test can be highly therapeutic, but will not necessarily give you that STRONG buzz like doses that are double that of 83mg. I love hearing about news on MDMA because with the little experiences I have had on MDMA have helped mt TREMENDOUSLY through very difficult times... It also brought closer a life long distance that my father and I have had ALL of our lives when we took it together
I guess that's true as well. I've taken mdma and just been feeling like "alright, I'm kinda rolling, this is pretty good but honestly I feel like a waste of money..." I"m always after the "HOLY FUCK I AM ROLLING TITS" .
but very rarely do I get that, because spending $45 on one drug experience to get a .5 because mol is such trash around here, is not worth it to me.
I'm going to guess you're a young'un. Pressed tabs used to be $25 a piece if you didn't have a good connection and weren't always good enough to take just one so it was easy to spend $75 to have a good night rolling. I certainly don't regret it.
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