But what exactly is it, and how does it affect your body?

但它的成分到底是什麼？而它又是如何影響身體？

Scientifically known as 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, MDMA is usually taken in pill form and supposed to be composed of the pure chemical.

科學上來說，搖頭丸的組成是亞甲二氧甲基苯丙胺，通常和很純的化學藥品一起製成藥丸。

Ecstasy, on the other hand, is the term for MDMA which has been chemically altered with other additives like amphetamine or caffeine.

另一方面，「興奮狂喜」是搖頭丸的代名詞，常混合安非他命跟咖啡因。

In it’s pure form, MDMA affects the neurotransmitters in your brain.

高純度的搖頭丸會影響腦中的神經傳遞介質。

Neurotransmitters are chemicals in your body which relay messages, while also controlling things such as reflexes, emotion, and memory.

神經傳遞介質是幫助身體傳遞訊息的化學物質，同時也掌控了人的反射動作、情緒跟記憶。

In particular, the neurotransmitter called serotonin controls appetite, sleep, memory, learning and in this case, mood.

特別的是，神經傳遞介質一種——復合胺，控制了食欲、睡眠、記憶、學習，這情況下，還改變了情緒。

When something really great happens in your life — say you fall in love — there is an increase in the release of serotonin from nerve cells, which ultimately stimulates your body and makes you feel happy.

比方說，生命中某件大事發生了，例如談戀愛，神經細胞中的復合胺就會增加，進而刺激你的身體，讓你感到快樂。

And it just so happens that when you take effective amounts of MDMA, these same cells are triggered to release enormous amounts of serotonin,

所以當我們吃搖頭丸到一定的量，這些細胞就會被啟動，釋放出大量的復合胺，還有其他的神經傳遞介質，例如多巴胺跟正腎上腺素，

along with other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine, which trigger even more electrochemical firing in the brain.

這更引起了腦中更大的化學反應。

This change creates the intense experience of happiness, feeling social, increased empathy and the inability to sleep, which is likely why it is such a popular party drug.

這個改變讓人感到極度開心、變得愛交朋友、有同理心、亢奮到睡不著，這也是搖頭丸為何成為受歡迎的派對必備藥物。

These feelings generally lasts around three to eight hours, as your brain cells naturally work to reuptake the serotonin and have it chemically destroyed.

這種感覺可以持續三到八個小時，腦內細胞會想攝取更多復合胺，然後用化學方法摧毀它。

But because MDMA releases so much serotonin, your body also destroys more than usual.

但因為搖頭丸釋放太多復合胺了，你身體消滅的復合胺也比正常時多。

This means when your brain function is back in its "normal state," there is less serotonin available to bind to your receptors and make you feel good with normal events.

也就是說，當你的腦功能恢復正常運作，身體裡的復合胺太少，抑制了你的感官，所以對普通的事都感到美好。

This can also lead to a fairly severe hangover with side effects such as negative mood, spouts of depression, irritability, and feeling extra tired.

同時也導致嚴重像宿醉的感覺，伴隨著心情低落、沮喪、易怒、容易覺得累等等副作用。

Despite the negative effects, MDMA is being studied as a potential therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

除了這些負面影響，研究顯示搖頭丸有機會成為治療創傷後壓力症候群和焦慮症的藥物。

PTSD patients generally have a decrease in brain communication between the amygdala and the hippocampus, but MRI analysis has show that MDMA actually increases the communication in these regions.

普遍來說，創傷後壓力症候群患者腦中的杏仁核和海馬迴的連結較差，核磁共振成像分析，搖頭丸確實可以增強這兩塊區域的連結。

However, this treatment remains fairly controversial as studies on rats and monkeys have shown that even small amounts of MDMA can not only destroy the endings of brain cells involved in the release of serotonin but potentially cause permanent brain damage.

然而，這種療法目前還很有爭議，因為對老鼠和猴子進行藥物測試發現，搖頭丸不只會破壞那些製造復合胺的腦細胞，還極有可能造成大腦永久損壞。

If you haven’t already seen it, we have a new video on The Science of Taste where we suffer through a taste challenge to show you just how complex eating food really is!

如果你還沒看過，我們有一支關於「味道科學」的影片，其中我們挑戰各種不同味覺實驗，讓你了解吃東西是件多複雜的事。

Click on the screen or use the link in the description to check it out!

按一下螢幕，或是在下方說明欄點擊連結。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos!

訂閱我們觀看更多每周科學影片吧！