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Scientists compared the brain activity of rats taking ecstacy in a quiet enviroment, rats taking ecstacy in a loud environment, and rats takinging a saline solution in a loud environment. The results:
I think that's a little weird, so basically taking a drug while listening to music is more detrimental than just taking the drug. I know that music (and environment in general) can definitely intensify an experience, but just because the scientists see less brain activity, does that necessarily mean it's detrimental? And also, the effect of E on the brain lasts for 5 days?! Thats quite surprising to me...Turning the volume up appears to turn brain function down. Among rats given the high dose of ecstasy, those exposed to 95 decibels--the maximum noise legally allowed in Italian nightclubs--had ECoG readings half as high as rats not exposed to sound. Brain activity for rats left to trip quietly returned to normal after 1 day, but raving rats' brain activity stayed low for 5 days. Rats given low doses of ecstasy also had low ECoG readings after sound exposure, but their readings returned to normal after just 1 day. Those given saline instead of ecstasy experienced no drop in ECoG reading, the team reports online today in BMC Neuroscience.
The results indicate that relatively common environmental factors can have big impacts on the harmful effects of high-dose drug use, says John Mendelson, a physician and clinical scientist at California Pacific Medical Center's Addiction Pharmacology Research Laboratory in San Francisco.
(source)