Discriminative stimulus effects of psychostimulants and hallucinogens in S(+)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and R(-)-MDMA trained mice.
The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics November 1, 2009 K S Murnane, N Murai, L L Howell et al. 34 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) has two mirror-image forms, or enantiomers, that produce different effects: one acts more like a stimulant, the other more like a hallucinogen. In mice trained to recognize one or the other enantiomer, a stimulant drug fully substituted only for the stimulant-like enantiomer, and a hallucinogen-like drug fully substituted only for the hallucinogen-like enantiomer. Cocaine and a tryptamine hallucinogen substituted for both, but each was more potent for one enantiomer than the other. These results indicate that the two enantiomers of MDMA produce qualitatively distinct internal sensations in mice, helping explain the drug's complex psychoactive profile.