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Behavioral profiles in rats distinguish among "ecstasy," methamphetamine and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: Mixed effects for "ecstasy" analogues.

David Quinteros-Muñoz, Patricio Sáez-briones, Gabriela Díaz-véliz, Sergio Mora-Gutiérrez, Marco Rebolledo-Fuentes, Bruce K. Cassels

Behavioral Neuroscience October 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1037/a0020827 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Population Rats
Interventions MDMA methamphetamine DOI MDA MDE MDOH MMDA-2
Dose 0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 mg/kg for MDMA, MA, and DOI; 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg for MDMA analogues
Topics MDMA
Citations 12
Post-publication review 1 comment on PubPeer (opens in new tab) · last active September 2016
Key findings MDMA produces a distinct behavioral profile in rats that differs from both stimulant and hallucinogenic drugs, and no tested analogue exactly replicates its effects.

Abstract

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "ecstasy") is a psychoactive drug structurally related to other phenylisopropylamines acting as stimulants or hallucinogens in humans. Although MDMA has a pharmacological identity of its own, the distinction of its acute effects from those of stimulants or even hallucinogens is controversial. In this work, dose-response curves (0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 mg/kg) representing the acute in vivo effects of MDMA were compared with those of a structurally related stimulant (methamphetamine, MA) and a hallucinogenic analogue (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine, DOI) in a set of behavioral protocols in rats, including spontaneous psychomotor activity, anxiolytic/anxiogenic-like effects and active avoidance conditioning responses. The behavioral profiles obtained allowed us to differentiate among racemic MDMA, MA, and DOI at different dose ranges. In addition, the evaluation of four MDMA analogues (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) comprising two well-known MDMA analogues (MDA [3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine] and MDE (N-ethyl-MDA, believed to substitute for MDMA) and two other structural analogues (MDOH [N-hydroxy-MDA] and MMDA-2 [2-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine]) showed that none of these exactly resembles MDMA in their pharmacological profiles, highlighting the unique character of this prototypical entactogen. In fact, their effects exhibited similarities with the behavioral profiles of either MA or DOI, as well as novel profiles in specific behavioral paradigms.

Comparable studies

Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Neurotoxicity of the psychedelic amphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Rats (implied by typical neurochemical study context) 1987 Experimental study
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine destroy serotonin terminals in rat brain: quantification of neurodegeneration by measurement of [3H]paroxetine-labeled serotonin uptake sites. Rat brain 1987 Animal experiment
Comparison of the monoamine transporters from human and mouse in their sensitivities to psychostimulant drugs Human and mouse dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin transporters expressed in cells 2006 In vitro laboratory study
Small Changes in Ambient Temperature Cause Large Changes in 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-Induced Serotonin Neurotoxicity and Core Body Temperature in the Rat Rats 1998 Experimental study
Altered Serotonin Innervation Patterns in the Forebrain of Monkeys Treated with (±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Seven Years Previously: Factors Influencing Abnormal Recovery Squirrel monkeys treated with MDMA 1999 Observational cohort

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