Stimulus effects of three sulfur-containing psychoactive agents.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior – August 01, 2004
Source: PubMed
Summary
New psychoactive substances, though structurally similar to known drugs, can have distinct effects. Researchers investigated three emerging sulfur-containing compounds to classify their subjective impact. Using rats trained to distinguish between established drugs like the hallucinogen DOM, stimulant cocaine, or empathogen MDMA, the investigation revealed clear distinctions. Two compounds, 4-MTA and 4-MTMA, consistently mimicked MDMA's effects. The third, 2C-T-7, produced effects akin to the hallucinogen DOM. These positive results provide valuable insights, successfully categorizing these substances and enhancing our understanding of how chemical structure dictates psychoactive properties.
Abstract
Two agents gaining popularity on the illicit drug market are the phenylalkylamines 4-MTA and 2C-T-7 [or 1-(4-methylthiophenyl)-2-aminopropane and 2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-n-propylthiophenyl)-1-aminoethane, respectively]. At this time, there exists a paucity of information on the behavioral actions of these sulfur-containing agents. The present investigation examined these agents, and the N-monomethyl analog of 4-MTA (i.e., 4-MTMA), in tests of stimulus generalization (substitution) using a two-lever drug discrimination task with groups of rats trained to discriminate either the hallucinogen DOM [1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane], the stimulant cocaine, or the empathogen MDMA from vehicle. 4-MTA and its N-monomethyl analog 4-MTMA (ED50 = 0.8 mg/kg in both cases) substituted only for the MDMA stimulus, whereas 2C-T-7 (ED50 = 0.8 mg/kg) substituted only for the DOM stimulus. Thus, at the doses examined, 4-MTA and 4-MTMA appear to be MDMA-like agents, and 2C-T-7 seems best classified as a DOM-like hallucinogen. These results provide additional data that extend the structure-activity relationships of phenylalkylamines and that are consistent with what little is currently known about the action of 4-MTA and 2C-T-7 in humans.