MDMA Exposure Upregulates BDNF Gene Expression in the Amygdala and Dorsal Hippocampus (2024)
Undergraduates: Natalie Deeb, Yesha Patel, Divine Irona, Qingyang (Claire) Sun
Faculty Advisor: Shveta Parekh
Department: Psychology and Neuroscience
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition characterized by feelings of stress and fear following a traumatic event. Recent studies have found that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can be used as a psychotherapeutic intervention; however, the biological mechanisms underlying MDMA's therapeutic effects on fear responses remain unclear. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein that plays an essential role in neuronal growth and learning and memory. The amygdala (COA) plays a role in fear learning and the dorsal hippocampus (DH) plays a role in memory which are key factors for PTSD development. Previous experiments suggest that increased levels of BDNF mRNA expression in these brain regions promote fear extinction. However, few studies have examined the effect of MDMA on BDNF expression in COA and DH. Thus, the present study considered 20 adult male rats that were administered 10.0 mg/mL MDMA or saline. Brain tissue punches from the COA and DH were used to extract, purify, and quantify RNA before cDNA synthesis from reverse transcription. A reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to quantify the gene expression of BDNF via fluorescence. We found that MDMA exposure significantly increased BDNF expression in both the COA and DH, compared to the control group. Given these results, increased levels of BDNF in the COA and DH may be responsible for the therapeutic effects experienced as a result of MDMA administration. These results provide insight into a potential mechanism by which MDMA administration might alleviate PTSD-related symptoms.