Methcathinone: a new and potent amphetamine-like agent.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior March 1, 1987 R A Glennon, M Yousif, N Naiman et al.
N-monomethylation of phenylisopropylamine derivatives does not uniformly increase amphetamine-like activity. In rats trained to discriminate amphetamine from saline, N-monomethyl derivatives of several dimethoxy and trimethoxy compounds failed to produce amphetamine-appropriate responding, but the N-monomethyl derivative of cathinone (methcathinone) did. Methcathinone was more potent than racemic cathinone or amphetamine (ED50 = 0.37 mg/kg vs. 0.71 mg/kg), induced dopamine release from rat caudate nucleus tissue, and was a more potent locomotor stimulant in mice. These results support a structural and pharmacological analogy between amphetamine/methamphetamine and cathinone/methcathinone.