Predicting the Abuse Liability of Entactogen-Class, New and Emerging Psychoactive Substances via Preclinical Models of Drug Self-administration.
Shawn. M. Aarde, Michael A. Taffe
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2017 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2016_54 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rodents in self-administration studies |
| Interventions | MDMA Mephedrone Methylone |
| Topics | Addiction MDMA |
| Keywords | Drug abuse Empathogen Entactogen Mephedrone Methylone Self-administration |
| Key findings | The authors argue that rodent self-administration evidence predicts mephedrone and methylone have enhanced abuse liability compared with MDMA. MDMA supports self-administration in animals, but less consistently and less effectively than amphetamine or methamphetamine, consistent with episodic use in most frequent human users, though substantial numbers of MDMA users meet criteria for dependence at some point. |
Abstract
Animal models of drug self-administration are currently the gold standard for making predictions regarding the relative likelihood that a recreational drug substance will lead to continued use and addiction. Such models have been found to have high predictive accuracy and discriminative validity for a number of drug classes including ethanol, nicotine, opioids, and psychostimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Members of the entactogen class of psychostimulants (drugs that produce an "open mind state" including feelings of interpersonal closeness, intimacy and empathy) have been less frequently studied in self-administration models. The prototypical entactogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "Ecstasy") supports self-administration but not with the same consistency nor with the same efficacy as structurally related drugs amphetamine or methamphetamine. Consistent with these observations, MDMA use is more episodic in the majority of those who use it frequently. Nevertheless, substantial numbers of MDMA users will meet the criteria for substance dependence at some point in their use history. This review examines the currently available evidence from rodent self-administration studies of MDMA and two of the new and emerging psychoactive substances (NPS) that produce entactogen type neuropharmacological responses - mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone; 4MMC; "meow meow") and methylone (3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone). Overall, the current evidence predicts that these NPS entactogens have enhanced abuse liability compared with MDMA.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA for addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforcing Effects of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) in Drug-Naive and Cocaine-Trained Rats Rats | 2001 | Experimental study | |
| Neurotoxic Effects of MDMA on Brain Serotonin Neurons: Evidence from Neurochemical and Radioligand Binding Studiesa Rats and rhesus monkeys | 1990 | Review | |
| Enhancement of conditioned place preference response to cocaine in rats following subchronic administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Male Sprague-Dawley rats | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Contribution of impulsivity and novelty-seeking to the acquisition and maintenance of MDMA self-administration Rats | 2012 | Observational cohort | |
| Profile of MDMA Self-Administration from a Large Cohort of Rats: MDMA Develops a Profile of Dependence with Extended Testing Rats | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 128 |
Citations in the library
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- Designer drugs: mechanism of action and adverse effects Archives of Toxicology April 1, 2020
- Acute Pharmacological Effects of 2C-B in Humans: An Observational Study Frontiers in Pharmacology March 13, 2018
- Acute Effects of 2C-E in Humans: An Observational Study Frontiers in Pharmacology March 18, 2020
- Locomotor and Reinforcing Effects of Pentedrone, Pentylone and Methylone in Rats bioRxiv Preprint Server July 21, 2017
- A Multimodal Preclinical Assessment of MDMA in Female and Male Rats: Prohedonic, Cognition Disruptive, and Prosocial Effects. Psychedelic Medicine June 1, 2024
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Cites 43
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and 38 more in the library