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BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES INDUCED BY N,N‐DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE IN RODENTS

P. Jenner, C.d. Marsden, C.m. Thanki

British Journal of Pharmacology May 1, 1980 DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1980.tb10884.x (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Population Pargyline-pretreated rodents (rats and mice)
Interventions N pargyline cyproheptadine methergoline mianserin cinanserin haloperidol pimozide methiothepin propranolol methysergide phenoxybenzamine
Topics 5-MeO-DMT DMT
Citations 38
Key findings The DMT-induced behavioral syndrome in pargyline-pretreated rodents consists of two components—hyperactivity, which may involve dopamine mechanisms, and other behavioral changes that do not—and these components respond differently to drugs affecting brain monoamines.

Abstract

N,N‐Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in pargyline pretreated rodents induced a dose‐dependent behavioural syndrome consisting of hyperactivity, prostration and hindlimb abduction, mild tremor, Straub tail, retropulsion and jerking. In rats pretreated with pargyline, the behavioural syndrome induced by DMT differed from that induced by l‐tryptophan or quipazine, in the lack of forepaw treading and head‐weaving and in the presence of only mild tremor. The hyperactivity component of the DMT‐induced behavioural syndrome in pargyline‐pretreated mice was potentiated by cyproheptadine, methergoline, and mianserin, inhibited by cinanserin, haloperidol, pimozide, methiothepin and propranolol, and not affected by 501C67‐sulphate and methysergide. The maximal behavioural changes induced by DMT in rats, other than hyperactivity, were unaffected by pretreatment with cyproheptadine, methysergide, and cinanserin. However, propranolol reduced the intensity of all behavioural effects apart from body jerking, and methergoline decreased the duration of prostration. Phenoxybenzamine and haloperidol, in contrast, enhanced prostration. DMT plus pargyline did not induce circling behaviour in mice with a unilateral 6‐hydroxydopamine lesion of the nigro‐striatal pathway. The DMT‐induced behavioural syndrome appears to consist of two components, (a) hyperactivity and (b) other behavioural changes. They differ in their response to drugs affecting brain monoamines. The hyperactivity component may be expressed via dopamine mechanisms, but the other behavioural changes are not. The two behaviours do not respond consistently to drugs believed to alter brain 5‐hydroxytryptamine function.

Comparable studies

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

Study Year Design Participants
The Hallucinogen N,N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Is an Endogenous Sigma-1 Receptor Regulator Mice and cell lines 2009 Experimental study
Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species. C57BL/6J mice 2020 Experimental study with dose-response experiments
Psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine modulate innate and adaptive inflammatory responses through the sigma-1 receptor of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Human primary monocyte-derived dendritic cells 2014 In vitro study
Inhibitory effect of chlorpromazine on the syndrome of hyperactivity produced by l‐tryptophan or 5‐methoxy‐N,N‐dimethyltryptamine in rats treated with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor Rats 1971 Experimental study
Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine on Rat Behaviors Relevant to Anxiety and Depression Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats 2018 Experimental study

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