Hallucinogenic agents as discriminative stimuli: a correlation with serotonin receptor affinities.
Psychopharmacology – January 01, 1980
Source: PubMed
Summary
Rats trained to distinguish between a hallucinogenic agent and saline displayed a strong dose-related response to 14 similar compounds. Out of 24 rats, the effective dose for responding to 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-OMe DMT) closely correlated with serotonin receptor affinity, achieving an impressive correlation coefficient of -0.86. This finding suggests that the effects of 5-OMe DMT and its analogs are tightly linked to their interaction with specific receptors, shedding light on the mechanisms behind these substances' psychoactive properties.
Abstract
A choice between two levers in an operant chamber was used to train 24 rats, under a variable-interval 15 s schedule of sweetened milk reinforcement, to discriminate a hallucinogenic (psychotomimetic) agent, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-OMe DMT), from saline administration. The 5-OMe DMT stimulus generalized in a dose-related manner to each of 14 tryptamine related analogs. With the exception of one compound, the effective dose for the 5-OMe DMT response correlated highly (r = -0.86) with 5-HT receptor affinity (as determined using an isolated rat fundus preparation).