Methylone pre-exposure differentially impacts the aversive effects of MDPV and MDMA in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats: Implications for abuse vulnerability.
Hayley N. Manke, Katharine H Nelson, Shihui Huang, Jacob M Bailey, Sara K Bowman, Robert A Jones, Sydney E Cerveny, Kenner C Rice, Anthony L Riley
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior October 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173470 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats |
| Interventions | Methylone MDPV MDMA |
| Dose | 10 mg/kg methylone; 1.8 mg/kg MDPV; 1 mg/kg MDMA |
| Duration | Methylone pre-exposure: one injection every 4th day for a total of five injections |
| Measures | taste avoidance |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Mdpv Methylone Polydrug use Pre-exposure Taste avoidance |
| Key findings | Methylone pre-exposure attenuated taste avoidance induced by MDPV and MDMA in male rats, with a greater effect for MDPV, and attenuated MDPV-induced avoidance in females but had no effect on MDMA-induced avoidance in females. The authors suggest a history of methylone use may reduce the aversive effects of MDPV and MDMA, with implications for polydrug use. |
Abstract
Polydrug use is well documented in synthetic cathinone users, although the consequences of such use are not well characterized. In pre-clinical research, a pre-exposure to a drug has been reported to attenuate the aversive effects of other drugs which has implications for their abuse potential. The goal of the present study was to investigate the impact of pre-exposure to the synthetic cathinone methylone on the aversive effects of MDPV and MDMA. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 10 mg/kg of methylone every 4th day (for a total of five injections) prior to taste avoidance training with 1.8 mg/kg of MDPV or 1 mg/kg of MDMA. MDPV and MDMA induced taste avoidance in males and females (all p's < 0.05). In males, methylone pre-exposure attenuated the avoidance induced by MDPV and MDMA (all p's < 0.05) with the attenuation greater with MDPV. In females, methylone pre-exposure attenuated avoidance induced by MDPV (all p's < 0.05), but it had no effect on those induced by MDMA (all p's > 0.05). The effects of exposure to methylone on taste avoidance induced by MDPV and MDMA were drug- (MDPV > MDMA) and sex- (MDMA only in males) dependent. The attenuating effects of methylone pre-exposure on MDPV and MDMA were discussed in terms of their shared neurochemical action. These findings suggest that a history of methylone use may reduce the aversive effects of MDPV and MDMA which may have implications for polydrug use involving the synthetic cathinones.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Effects of Serial Polydrug Use on the Rewarding and Aversive Effects of the Novel Synthetic Cathinone Eutylone Brain Sciences September 7, 2023
- Pre-exposure to eutylone attenuates its own aversive effects but has no impact on cocaine or MDMA: A possible role of eutylone's hybrid pharmacology. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior July 1, 2025
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