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Evidence suggests MDMA maydecreaseAnxiety.
11 studies (16 claims)
Moderate consensus
Typical effective dose 125 (122.5–125) mgacross 3 dosed studies
Study Claims
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Type | Population | Dosage | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| psilocybin, ibogaine, LSD, MDMA and ketamine | No effect - studied | substance use disorders, anxiety relating to physical illness, depression, and PTSD | Human | patients with substance use disorders, anxiety relating to physical illness, depression, and PTSD | Not specified | Trauma-Informed Care in Psychedelic Therapy Research: A Qualitative Literature Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions in PTSD and Psychedelic Therapy Across Conditions.cited 1× |
| psychedelic-assisted therapy using MDMA | Decreases - effect on anxiety is very uncertain | anxiety | Human | people with life-threatening diseases | Not specified in the abstract. | Psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating anxiety, depression, and existential distress in people with life-threatening diseases.cited 5× |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy | No effect - shows promise as a treatment | other anxiety disorders | Human | — | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy | Decreases - demonstrated rapid and durable improvement in | social anxiety symptoms | Human | autistic adults | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA (75 to 125 mg) | Decreases - placebo-subtracted Cohen's d effect size was very large | Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Total scores | Human | autistic adults with marked to very severe social anxiety | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA (75 to 125 mg) | Decreases - Improvement in LSAS scores from baseline to the primary endpoint was significantly greater for MDMA group compared to the placebo group | Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Total scores | Human | autistic adults with marked to very severe social anxiety | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA (75 to 125 mg) | Decreases - Change in LSAS scores from baseline to 6-month follow-up showed similar positive results | Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Total scores | Human | autistic adults with marked to very severe social anxiety | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA (75 to 125 mg) | Decreases - with a Cohen's d effect size of | Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Total scores | Human | autistic adults with marked to very severe social anxiety | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA (75 to 125 mg) | Decreases - Social anxiety remained the same or continued to improve slightly | social anxiety | Human | most participants in the MDMA group after completing the active treatment phase | 75 to 125 mg during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. | Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.cited 129× |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy | Decreases - had a greater mean reduction | State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Trait scores | Human | Participants with anxiety from a life-threatening illness (LTI) | 125 mg MDMA per session, administered during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions initially, with additional open-label sessions post-unblinding. | MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and other psychological distress related to life-threatening illnesses: a randomized pilot study.cited 72× |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy | No effect - results did not reach a significant group difference | State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Trait scores | Human | Participants with anxiety from a life-threatening illness (LTI) | 125 mg MDMA per session, administered during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions initially, with additional open-label sessions post-unblinding. | MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and other psychological distress related to life-threatening illnesses: a randomized pilot study.cited 72× |
| MDMA and serotonergic psychedelics (psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and ayahuasca) | Increases - commonly reported | anxiety | Human | patients across diagnoses | Not specified | Adverse events in clinical treatments with serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA: A mixed-methods systematic review.cited 92× |
| MDMA | Increases - included | anxiety | Human | patients | Not specified | Adverse events in clinical treatments with serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA: A mixed-methods systematic review.cited 92× |
| MDMA | No effect - modulates | activities in the brain regions involved in fear and anxiety | Human | — | Not specified | MDMA-Based Psychotherapy in Treatment-Resistant Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Brief Narrative Overview of Current Evidence.cited 3× |
| MDMA | Decreases - reduction | anxiety | Human | patients with terminal illness | Not specified | Psychedelics for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and existential distress in patients with a terminal illness: a systematic review.cited 59× |
| MDMA (lowest tested dose of 0.5 μM) | Increases - showed anxiogenic and prosocial effects | anxiety and social behaviours | Animal | 3-week-old zebrafish | 0.5 μM to 2.5 μM (acute exposure) | Exploring the impact of MDMA and oxytocin ligands on anxiety and social responses: A comprehensive behavioural and molecular study in the zebrafish model. |
| MDMA | Decreases - reducing activation in | brain regions implicated in the expression of fear- and anxiety-related behaviors, namely the amygdala and insula | Human | — | Not specified in the abstract. | MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: Are memory reconsolidation and fear extinction underlying mechanisms?cited 112× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy | No effect - supports the tolerability | anxiety and depression | Human | advanced-stage cancer | 120 mg MDMA (+ 60 mg optional supplemental dose) per session. | Effect of MDMA-assisted therapy on mood and anxiety symptoms in advanced-stage cancer (EMMAC): study protocol for a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.cited 2× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy | No effect - will examine the effect | symptoms of anxiety and depression | Human | advanced-stage cancer | 120 mg MDMA (+ 60 mg optional supplemental dose) per session. | Effect of MDMA-assisted therapy on mood and anxiety symptoms in advanced-stage cancer (EMMAC): study protocol for a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.cited 2× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) | Decreases - primary outcome is SAD symptom reduction | SAD symptom reduction as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale | Human | participants who meet criteria with moderate-to-severe social anxiety disorder (SAD) of the generalized subtype | Two oral doses of MDMA (specific amount not stated). | Social anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol.cited 3× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) | No effect - assess preliminary treatment outcomes | social anxiety disorder (SAD) | Human | participants who meet criteria with moderate-to-severe social anxiety disorder (SAD) of the generalized subtype | Two oral doses of MDMA (specific amount not stated). | Social anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol.cited 3× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) | No effect - assess feasibility and safety | social anxiety disorder (SAD) | Human | participants who meet criteria with moderate-to-severe social anxiety disorder (SAD) of the generalized subtype | Two oral doses of MDMA (specific amount not stated). | Social anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol.cited 3× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) | No effect - assess psychological and physiological processes of change | social anxiety disorder (SAD) | Human | participants who meet criteria with moderate-to-severe social anxiety disorder (SAD) of the generalized subtype | Two oral doses of MDMA (specific amount not stated). | Social anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol.cited 3× |
| MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) | No effect - development of a treatment manual | social anxiety disorder (SAD) | Human | — | Two oral doses of MDMA (specific amount not stated). | Social anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol.cited 3× |