The novel psychoactive substance methoxetamine induces persistent behavioral abnormalities and neurotoxicity in rats
Neuropharmacology January 1, 2019 Giulia Costa, Marcello Serra, Nicholas Pintori et al.
Repeated administration of the novel psychoactive substance methoxetamine (MXE) to rats produced persistent behavioral abnormalities and neurotoxicity. Seven days after the last of five every-other-day doses (0.1–0.5 mg/kg), rats showed increased anxiety in the elevated plus maze and marble burying tests, and impaired non-spatial memory in the novel object recognition test. No effects on calling behavior or locomotor activity were observed. The same rats displayed dopaminergic damage in the medial prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen, substantia nigra pars compacta, and ventral tegmental area, along with serotonergic damage in the nucleus accumbens. These findings demonstrate for the first time that repeated MXE induces lasting behavioral changes and brain damage in rats, helping to elucidate risks for human consumers.