5-MeO-MiPT, a new psychedelic tryptamine first identified in Italy in 2014, dose-dependently inhibits sensorimotor responses and prepulse inhibition in male CD-1 mice, and at high doses (30 mg/kg) impairs stimulated motor activity and causes cardiorespiratory changes. In silico ADMET predictions indicate its toxicokinetic profile resembles those of 5-MeO-DIPT and DMT, with a cytochrome-related risk. Correspondence between effects in mice and symptoms from a human intoxication case suggests consumption can impair activity performance and pose health risks, but the authors argue the compound should not be excluded from psychiatric therapy research.
Repeated exposure to the synthetic cannabinoid AKB48 worsens the visual sensorimotor, sensory gating, and motor reactivity response to the hallucinogens 2C-I and 25I-NBOMe in mice. This effect is more prolonged in males than in females. The underlying mechanism involves neuroplastic changes in the cerebellum and cortex, specifically at serotonin 2A receptors and the serotonin transporter. These changes occur more markedly and rapidly in female mice. The findings highlight a significant interaction between synthetic cannabinoids and psychedelic drugs, which may be relevant to long-term effects and psychiatric consequences of their consumption.
The synthetic cathinone αPHP, a derivative of MDPV, induces dose-dependent neurotoxic effects in mouse neural stem/progenitor cells grown in 2D cultures and 3D neurospheres. Exposure to concentrations from 50 to 2000 μM alters cell morphology, disrupts neuronal and glial differentiation, activates apoptotic cell death pathways, and causes ultrastructural changes. These findings suggest that αPHP is neurotoxic and neuromodulatory, contributing to understanding the mechanisms behind psychiatric and neurological outcomes from synthetic cathinones.
3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC), a synthetic cathinone involved in many poisonings, causes locomotor stimulation, rapid breathing, hypothermia, and sensorimotor alterations in mice, with prepulse inhibition changes only at high doses and minor sex differences. All 15 human intoxications in Italy from 2014 to 2025 were non-fatal, involving male patients with psychomotor agitation, psychosis, aggressiveness, CNS depression, cardiac arrhythmias, chest pain, and tachypnea. Predicted metabolic reactions include N-dealkylation, N-hydroxylation, and phenyl hydroxylation, and all compounds show potential for drug-drug interactions and cardiotoxicity.