Skip to content

Behavioral characterization of alpha-ethyltryptamine, a tryptamine derivative with MDMA-like properties in rats.

K M Krebs, Mark A. Geyer

Psychopharmacology 1993 DOI: 10.1007/bf02245712 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Behavioral pharmacology dose-response study in rats Peer reviewed
Population Rats
Interventions Alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET) Fluoxetine
Dose AET 5, 10, 20 mg/kg; fluoxetine 10 mg/kg
Measures Behavioral Pattern Monitor
Topics Serotonin MDMA
Keywords Animals Rats, sprague-dawley Tryptamines N-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine Fluoxetine Receptors, serotonin Receptors, presynaptic Behavior, animal Exploratory behavior Motor activity Male
Key points AET at 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg significantly increased locomotor activity and significantly decreased investigatory behavior in rats, a profile the authors say resembles MDMA rather than classical hallucinogens. Fluoxetine pretreatment (10 mg/kg) attenuated the AET-induced hyperactivity, as it does with MDMA, leading the authors to propose that AET acts by releasing presynaptic serotonin.

Abstract

Several reports have speculated that the tryptamine-derived drug alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET) may have effects similar to those of the amphetamine-derived drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Indeed, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has recently placed AET on the Schedule I list because of its putative similarity to MDMA. The Behavioral Pattern Monitor, which quantifies locomotor and investigatory responses of rats, was used to characterize the effects of AET in a paradigm that distinguishes between the effects of traditional hallucinogens, amphetamine-like stimulants, and MDMA-like drugs. First, a dose-response study revealed that all doses of AET tested (5, 10, 20 mg/kg) significantly increased locomotor activity. Locomotor hyperactivity is produced by MDMA or amphetamine-like stimulants, but not by classical hallucinogens, such as LSD or mescaline. Additionally, AET significantly decreased measures of investigatory behavior. Similar decreases occur with MDMA or hallucinogen administration. Second, as with MDMA, the locomotor hyperactivity induced by AET was attenuated by pretreatment (10 mg/kg) with the serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. Thus, AET, a tryptamine-derived drug, appears to produce an MDMA-like profile of behavioral changes by virtue of releasing presynaptic serotonin.

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

Citations in the library

Cited by 12

and 7 more in the library

Cites 5

Related reading

Explore topics

Serotonin MDMA LSD Mescaline