AbstractResearch into treating drug dependence with hallucinogens, although promising, ended with questions still unanswered because of varying, in some cases skeptical, methodology and insufficient adherence to a double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Interest is again emerging, especially with the recent patenting in the United States of ibogaine for its apparent anti-craving properties. A...
In the Amazon rainforest there grow two plants: the mariri (Banisteriopsi caapi) and the chacrona (Psychotria viridis), which have been used by native Indians for hundreds of years to make an infusion. The infusion, known as ‘hoasca tea’, is no ordinary herbal brew but one with psychoactive properties. The leaves of these plants contain dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which has hallucinogenic...
The effects of the 5-HT2 receptor agonists 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced dopamine release and 5-HT depletion in the striatum were studied. The MDMA-induced increase in the extracellular concentration of dopamine in the striatum was enhanced significantly in rats treated with...
An analytical method for determining traditional and emerging drugs of abuse in particulate matter, sewage sludge and sediment has been developed and validated. A total of 41 drugs of abuse and metabolites including cocainics, tryptamines, amphetamines, arylcyclohexylamines, cathinones, morphine derivatives, pyrrolidifenones derivatives, entactogens, piperazines and other psychostimulants were...
Anthropologists have long speculated that ancient peoples of Mesoameria used a toad, Bufo marinus, as a ritual intoxicant. This hypothesis rests on many iconographic and mythological representations of toads and on a number of speculative ethnographic reports. The authors reject B. marinus as a candidate for such use because of the toxicity of its venom. A more likely candidate is the Sonoran...
Bilateral infusion of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) agonists into the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) of awake rats was shown to influence oral behavior. The 5-HT1A agonist (R)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-propylamino)- tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) (1.3-13 nmol on each side) produced a dose-dependent depression of vacuous chewing movements (VCMs) that lasted about 20 min. The (R)-8-OH-DPAT-induced depression of...
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) and 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) facilitate motoneuron excitability through 5-HT1C/5-HT2 receptors in rats. Using spinal cord slices prepared from adult rats, we recorded unitary cell discharges, evoked by local stimulation of the adjacent site, extracellularly in the motor nuclei of the ventral horn. 5-MeODMT, DOI,...
The effects of two 5-HT-related hallucinogens on rat spinal mono- and polysynaptic reflex pathways in the rat were investigated. 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT, 1 and 100 micrograms/kg, i.v.), an indolealkylamine agent, produced a dose-dependent decrease in the monosynaptic reflex, whereas 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI, 1-100 micrograms/kg), a phenylalkylamine...
The benzofuran analogues of the hallucinogens 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine and 5-methoxy-alpha-methyltryptamine were synthesized and evaluated for affinity at the serotonin 5-HT2 and 5-HT1A receptors in rat brain homogenate, labeled with [125I]-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane ([125I]DOI) and [3H]-8-hydroxy-2-(N,N-di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([3H]-8-OH-DPAT), respectively. At the...
The acute and chronic effects of cocaine were evaluated on the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-receptor 5-HT2 mediated behavioral function, the head-twitch response (HTR), in mice. In a recent study, we reported that the (+/-)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane HCl (DOI)-induced HTR was dose dependently reduced by cocaine via indirect stimulation of serotonergic 5-HT1A and adrenergic...