378. Neural Circuit Delineation of (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-evoked Sociability and Fear Memory Deficits

(±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) assisted psychotherapy has demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of PTSD in phase III clinical trials, but the mechanism is poorly understood. Prior work by our lab and others suggests that MDMA elicits a translationally conserved prosocial phenotype in mice, involving serotonergic activity in brain regions involved in fear memory processing, e.g., the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and basolateral amygdala (BLA). Here, we hypothesized that impaired threat detection by (±)-MDMA is a common behavioral mechanism driving sociability and altered fear responses, and that these effects are manifested by the same neural circuitry.