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38DESIGNER DRUGSpsychological effects, illegal use increased dramatically, especiallyamong high school and college students (Figure 3.3).In fact, recent polls and surveys indicate that between 7 and11% of high school students have tried Ecstasy at least once,and this number is even higher among college students andyoung adults. As with other designer and club drugs, themajority of users tend to be Caucasian, although the drug isgaining popularity in African Americans, Hispanics, and otherethnic groups. Ecstasy users often tend to be from middle- orupper-class families, and thus Ecstasy is often referred to as a“yuppie” drug. Ecstasy use is vastly popular at dance clubs,DRUGS AND ANIMAL RESEARCHResearch on animals has helped scientists to discover thetoxic effects of Ecstasy on the brain. As in humans, whenexperimental animals like monkeys and rats are repeatedlygiven Ecstasy, nerve fibers containing the neurotransmitterserotonin start to die. Normally, the cerebral cortex (whichincludes the frontal, sensory, motor, and visual cortices)contains thousands of serotonin-releasing nerve fibers, whichcontrol mood and thinking abilities. In one scientific study,monkeys were given two 5-milligram doses of Ecstasy a dayfor four days, in an attempt to mimic the kind of “Ecstasybinge” that human Ecstasy users often engage in. A separateset of “control” monkeys was given only saline. When thebrain tissue of the monkeys was examined two weeks aftergiving them Ecstasy, many of the serotonin nerve fibers(depicted as pink in the photograph on the facing page) inthe cerebral cortex had died or withered away. The scientistsalso examined the brains of a separate set of monkeys thathad received the same Ecstasy treatment seven years beforehandand found that many of the serotonin nerve fibers in thecerebral cortex were still missing, although some had grownback. Scientists have recently found that Ecstasy also