Self-injection of d,1-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the baboon.
Psychopharmacology 1987 DOI: 10.1007/bf00518175 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal self-administration experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Baboons |
| Interventions | MDMA Cocaine |
| Dose | 0.1-3.2 mg/kg/injection MDMA; 0.32 mg/kg/injection cocaine |
| Duration | 14 or more days per substitution period |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | MDMA at 0.32-3.2 mg/kg per injection maintained self-injection above saline levels in baboons, showing it acts as a reinforcer, but less strongly than cocaine. The highest dose produced alternating high and low injection days and suppressed food-maintained responding and food intake. |
Abstract
MDMA (d,1-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine HCl; "ecstasy") self-injection (0.1-3.2 mg/kg/injection) was examined in baboons under conditions in which baseline responding was maintained by intravenous injections of cocaine HCl (0.32 mg/kg/injection). Drug was available under a FR 160-response schedule of intravenous injection. Each drug injection was followed by a 3-h time out allowing a maximum of eight injections per day. MDMA or MDMA vehicle (saline) was substituted for cocaine for a period of 14 or more days followed by a return to the cocaine baseline. MDMA (0.32-3.2 mg/kg/inj) maintained more injections and higher responses rates than were maintained by saline. The maximal number of injections maintained by MDMA and the maximal response rate maintained by MDMA were less than those maintained under baseline conditions with cocaine. The highest dose of MDMA tested maintained a cyclic pattern of self-injection, i.e., days of high numbers of injections intermixed with days of low numbers of injections. At the highest dose of MDMA tested, concurrent food maintained behavior was suppressed to an extent that food intake was also decreased.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amphetamine-type central nervous system stimulants release norepinephrine more potently than they release dopamine and serotonin | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) cause selective ablation of serotonergic axon terminals in forebrain: immunocytochemical evidence for neurotoxicity Rat brain | 1988 | Experimental study | |
| The molecular mechanism of "ecstasy" [3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)]: serotonin transporters are targets for MDMA-induced serotonin release. Human platelet plasma membrane vesicles and bovine adrenal chromaffin granule membrane... | 1992 | Laboratory study | |
| Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA | 2019 | Experimental study | |
| Effects of certain hallucinogenic amphetamine analogs on the release of [3H]-serotonin from rat brain synaptosomes Rat whole brain synaptosomes | 1982 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 48
- 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”): pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans Addiction May 1, 1994
- Ecstasy (MDMA) dependence Drug and Alcohol Dependence January 7, 1999
- Pharmacological profile of novel psychoactive benzofurans British Journal of Pharmacology March 13, 2015
- MDMA self‐administration in rats: acquisition, progressive ratio responding and serotonin transporter binding European Journal of Neuroscience November 16, 2007
- Reinforcing Effects of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) in Drug-Naive and Cocaine-Trained Rats Pharmacology 2001
and 43 more in the library
Cites 3
- Further investigation of the discriminative stimulus properties of MDA. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior April 1984
- MDA: a psychoactive agent with dual stimulus effects. Life Sciences January 23, 1984
- Stereoselective effects of 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM) on schedule-controlled behavior. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior October 1977