Addiction Audio31 Okt 2025

MDMA, anxiety, and depression with Zachary Bryant

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Zachary Bryant, a PhD candidate at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney, Australia. The interview covers Zachary’s research report on the relationship between MDMA (or ecstasy) use in youth adulthood and anxiety or depressive disorders in later adult life.

The effects of MDMA [1:20]
The prevalence of MDMA use and reasons why people take it [02:00]
The relevance of MDMA for depression and anxiety [03:05]
The use of the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study to answer Zachary’s research question [04:17]
The key findings of the study [06:50]
Some reasons to explain the relationship found between MDMA use and anxiety but not depression [07:43]
The self-medication hypothesis [10:04]
The implication of the findings for clinical practice [11:02]
The importance of replicating the findings in different cohorts and with more recent data [14:03]

About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK).

About Zachary Bryant: Zachary is a PhD candidate and research officer at the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use. His doctoral research examines the relationship between MDMA (ecstasy) use and mood, with a focus on implications for therapeutic applications. More broadly, his work explores the epidemiology of psychedelic use and applies advanced causal approaches to substance use research. He is particularly interested in emerging data collection and analysis methods, including intensive longitudinal designs such as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA).

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Original article: The relationship between 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use in young adulthood and anxiety or depressive disorders in the mid-30s: Findings from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study - https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70173

The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.

The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

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