5-methoxy-N,N-di(iso)propyltryptamine hydrochloride (Foxy)-induced cognitive deficits in rat after exposure in adolescence.
David M Compton, Kerri L Dietrich, Melissa C Selinger, Erin K Testa
Physiology & behavior May 3, 2011 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.01.021 via PubMed
Summary
Rats exposed to the hallucinogenic drug 5-MeO-DIPT during adolescence showed significant deficits in adapting to new task demands as adults, despite performing comparably on initial spatial navigation tests. While both drug-treated and control rats could master tasks with a single goal, the drug-treated group performed worse when the goal was moved or when flexible responses were required. The findings indicate that 5-MeO-DIPT may negatively impact serotonin activity in the brain.
Study at a glance
| Population | adolescent rats |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Adolescent exposure to 5-MeO-DIPT resulted in inferior performance in flexible response tasks compared to controls. |
Abstract
Foxy or Methoxy Foxy (5-methoxy-N,N-di(iso)propyltryptamine hydrochloride; 5-MeO-DIPT) is rapidly gaining popularity among recreational users as a hallucinogenic "designer drug." Unfortunately, much remain unknown about the consequences of its use on neuropsychological development or behavior. During one of two adolescent periods, the rats were given repeated injections of 5 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg of 5-MeO-DIPT or a corresponding volume of isotonic saline. After the animals reached adulthood, they were trained and tested on a number of tasks designed to assess the impact of 5-MeO-DIPT, if any, on spatial memory, presumably involving declarative memory systems as well as a nonspatial task that is considered sensitive to disruptions in nondeclarative memory. Both the 5-MeO-DIPT- and saline-treated rats were able to master spatial navigation tests where the task included a single goal location and all groups performed comparably on these phases of training and testing. Regardless of exposure level during adolescence, the performance of the drug-treated rats was markedly inferior to that of the control animals on a task where the goal was moved to a new location and on a response learning task, suggesting a lack of flexibility in adapting their responses to changing task demands. Detected reductions in serotonin activity in the forebrain similar to the effects of extensively investigated compounds such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), suggest that 5-MeO-DIPT may produce its adverse effects by compromising serotonergic systems in the brain.