MDMA causes large increases in dopamine release and synaptic presence, increasing dopaminergic tone.

“and this is one of the characteristic properties of methamphetamine end of MDMA which is that it leads to enormous increases in the amount of dopamine released and the amount of dopamine that hangs around in the synapse and therefore it increases what we call dopaminergic Tone or dopaminergic drive”

“MDMA is 3 4 methylene dioxy methamphetamine but unless you're a chemist that's not going to mean much to you nor should it MDMA has some very interesting properties the first of which is that methamphetamine component which because it's a methamphetamine and acts like other amphetamines what it does is it blocks the reuptake of dopamine from neurons after dopamine is released”

“MDMA doesn't prevent the release of dopamine at the synapse it does quite the opposite it actually prevents the sucking up of the dopamine that's been released and that does not bind to The receptors so basically what it does is it blocks these things called dopamine Transporters and the Transporters are the things that suck back up the dopamine that's been released that has not bound to receptors so because it blocks that sucking up process there's more dopamine around in the synapse to hang out and then bind to receptors once some become available okay”