Behavioral effects of N-ethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDE; "EVE").
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior October 1987 DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(87)90206-1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal drug discrimination study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 8 |
| Population | Male rats |
| Interventions | N-ethyl-3 4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDE) 3 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) |
| Dose | 2.0 mg/kg MDE (training dose), 1.5 mg/kg MDMA |
| Key points | MDMA substituted completely for MDE in rats trained to discriminate MDE, producing 100% MDE-appropriate responding at 1.5 mg/kg, and both drugs reduced discrimination accuracy at lower doses (ED50 = 0.75 mg/kg for MDE, 0.62 mg/kg for MDMA). The authors argue this pharmacological similarity, and the parallel to relative potencies reported by human users, has implications for the future scheduling of MDE. |
Abstract
Eight male rats were trained to discriminate 2.0 mg/kg N-ethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDE) from its vehicle using a two-lever, food-motivated operant discrimination task. Once trained, the rats showed a dose-dependent decrease in discriminative accuracy following administration of decreased doses of MDE (ED50 = 0.75 mg/kg). Administration of 1.5 mg/kg 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a recently restricted Schedule I drug, produced 100% MDE-appropriate responding in the MDE-trained rats and decreased discriminative performance was similarly observed following lower doses of MDMA (ED50 = 0.62 mg/kg). The difference in relative potencies of MDE and MDMA in rats is reminiscent of those seen in human abusers who report effective oral psychotomimetic doses. Time-course data indicated that MDE has a fast onset, 100% drug-correct responding 10 min post-injection, and a peak effect between 10-20 min with declining effect at 60-120 min post-administration. These findings along with those of others show a pharmacological similarity between MDE and MDMA. Implications as to the future scheduling of MDE are discussed.