Empathogen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An empathogen is an active ingredient that causes the person under its influence to have the feeling of forming a unit with other people, of understanding them, of feeling together with them. The term is made up of empátho ( ancient Greek ἐμπάθω , " sympathize "; compare empathy ) and the ending -gen (from ancient Greek γένεσις , génesis , "emergence").

MDMA (often contained in ecstasy ) is probably the best-known example of a substance with this effect. Another example is the designer drug methylone (also known as MDMC (3,4-methylenedioxy- N- methylcathinone)). It is the β- ketone - analogue ( "bk- MDMA") of 3,4-methylenedioxy N -methylamphetamins (MDMA).

Until they were banned in the 1980s, drugs with an empathic effect were often used in psychotherapy ( psycholytic psychotherapy ), because under their influence the patient opens up to his therapist and the latter finds easier access to the patient and the latter to himself more easily.

Substances for which an empathogenic effect could be proven:

Impaired social awareness

A recent study that measured social behavior under the influence of MDMA showed a reduced perception of threatening facial expressions. The authors of the study concluded that the drug promoted social rapprochement - here by hiding risks - and not social empathy. This also means that the willingness to use violence is potentially increased in the event of a conflict. The results were confirmed by another study in which MDMA decreased the perception of simulated social rejection. Two other studies showed that MDMA hindered the perception of negative emotions through fearful, angry, hostile, and sad faces.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ G. Bedi, D. Hyman, H. de Wit: Is ecstasy an "empathogen"? Effects of ± 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on prosocial feelings and identification of emotional states in others. In: Biological psychiatry. Volume 68, number 12, December 2010, ISSN  1873-2402 , pp. 1134-1140, doi : 10.1016 / j.biopsych.2010.08.003 , PMID 20947066 , PMC 2997873 (free full text).
  2. ^ CG Frye, MC Wardle, GJ Norman, H. de Wit: MDMA decreases the effects of simulated social rejection. In: Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior. Volume 117, February 2014, ISSN  1873-5177 , pp. 1–6, doi : 10.1016 / j.pbb.2013.11.030 , PMID 24316346 , PMC 3910346 (free full text).
  3. ↑ CM Hysek, Y. Schmid, LD Simmler, G. Domes, M. Heinrichs, C. Eisenegger, KH Preller, BB Quednow, ME Liechti: MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior. In: Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. Volume 9, Number 11, November 2014, ISSN  1749-5024 , pp. 1645-1652, doi : 10.1093 / scan / nst161 , PMID 24097374 , PMC 4221206 (free full text).
  4. ↑ CM Hysek, G. Domes, ME Liechti: MDMA enhances "mind reading" of positive emotions and impairs "mind reading" of negative emotions. In: Psychopharmacology. Volume 222, Number 2, July 2012, ISSN  1432-2072 , pp. 293-302, doi : 10.1007 / s00213-012-2645-9 , PMID 22277989 .

See also

  • Entactogens (psychoactive substances that increase the awareness of one's own emotions)
  • Entheogens (psychoactive drugs in cult, spiritual and religious use)
  • Psycholytic psychotherapy (use of psychotropic substances to support therapy)
  • Psychonautics (exploring one's own psyche and the unconscious)