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Discriminative and locomotor effects of five synthetic cathinones in rats and mice

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Abstract

Rationale

Synthetic cathinones continue to be sold as “legal” alternatives to methamphetamine or cocaine. As these marginally legal compounds become controlled, suppliers move to other, unregulated compounds.

Objectives

The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether several temporarily controlled cathinone compounds, which are currently abused on the street, stimulate motor activity and have discriminative stimulus effects similar to cocaine and/or methamphetamine.

Methods

Methcathinone, pentedrone, pentylone, 3-fluoromethcathinone (3-FMC), and 4-methylethcathinone (4-MEC) were tested for locomotor stimulant effects in mice and subsequently for substitution in rats trained to discriminate cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) or methamphetamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) from saline.

Results

Methcathinone, pentedrone, and pentylone produced locomotor stimulant effects which lasted up to 6 h. In addition, pentylone produced convulsions and lethality at 100 mg/kg. 4-MEC produced locomotor stimulant effects which lasted up to 2 h. Methcathinone, pentedrone, pentylone, 3-FMC, and 4-MEC each produced discriminative stimulus effects similar to those of cocaine and methamphetamine.

Conclusions

All of the tested compounds produce discriminative stimulus effects similar to either those of cocaine, methamphetamine, or both, which suggests that these compounds are likely to have similar abuse liability to cocaine and/or methamphetamine. Pentylone may be more dangerous on the street, as it produced adverse effects at doses that produced maximal stimulant-like effects.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH N01DA-2-8822 and N01DA-13-8908). Program staff was involved in selection of compounds and test parameters. The ATDP had no further role in study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; or the writing of the report. They have granted permission for the submission of this data for publication.

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Correspondence to Michael B. Gatch.

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Gatch, M.B., Rutledge, M.A. & Forster, M.J. Discriminative and locomotor effects of five synthetic cathinones in rats and mice. Psychopharmacology 232, 1197–1205 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3755-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3755-3

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