Effects on rat sexual behaviour of acute MDMA (ecstasy) alone or in combination with loud music.

The effects on sexual behaviour of acute low doses of methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (0.3, 1, 3 mg/kg/i.p.), alone or in combination with exposure to loud music (1 h stimulation), were investigated in Wistar rats. Results indicate that acute MDMA, at dose of 3 mg/kg, notably impaired copulatory behavior of sexually experienced male rats. In particular, MDMA-exposed animals exhibited a significant increase in intromission and ejaculation latencies as well as a significant decrease in percentage of rats displaying copulatory activity (one intromission at least). Surprisingly, one hour exposure to loud music, which per se resulted ineffective, antagonized the suppressive effect of MDMA by increasing the percent of animals displaying sexual activity. However, combined treatment of MDMA and music stimulation did not fully restore normal sexual behavior as the animals reaching ejaculation still showed a marked reduction of copulatory efficiency. These findings demonstrate that the systemic administration of a single low dose of MDMA, alone or in combination with loud music, which is commonly present in certain environments such as rave parties, notably impairs copulatory activity of male rats.