The FASEB Journal
December 1, 2002
Bruce Ladenheim, Michael Mccoy, Jean Lud Cadet et al.
34 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) triggers changes in gene activity in the rat cortex within hours of a single injection. The genes affected are involved in signaling, transcription regulation, and xenobiotic metabolism, suggesting that the cortex responds acutely by altering transcription of genes that could lead to long-term brain changes. MDMA is known to cause hyperthermia, reactive oxygen species, and long-term serotonin depletion, with the cortex especially sensitive. These molecular changes may underlie the drug's lasting effects on the brain.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
June 1, 2002
Emmanuel S Onaivi, Syed F Ali, Sanika S Chirwa et al.
23 citations
Mapping the human genetic code may help identify genes involved in addictions. Microarray technologies have linked specific genes to diseases. Pharmacological treatments for addiction have been largely disappointing, prompting interest in the controversial natural alkaloid ibogaine. Research on gene expression and signaling molecules in rat brain models shows that psychostimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine alter long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, possibly creating a threshold beyond which excessive brain stimulation occludes LTP. Ibogaine broadly regulates these signal transduction pathways and influences immediate early genes, suggesting it may signal addiction-related gene products, though further evaluation is needed.
Molecular Psychiatry
November 14, 2025
Núria Nadal‐gratacós, Pol Puigseslloses, Laura Hernández‐guzmán et al.
Three novel phenethylamine derivatives—25C-NBF, 25B-NBF, and 25I-NBF—show high affinity and selectivity for the 5-HT2A receptor, with signaling bias toward Gq over β-arrestin pathways similar to serotonin. In mice, they cause moderate head-twitch responses without affecting movement or sensorimotor gating. No rewarding or reinforcing effects were observed, and accumbal dopamine levels in rats remained unchanged. 25C-NBF promotes dendritogenesis, spinogenesis, and increased Bdnf mRNA in vitro and in vivo, reduces despair-like behavior after acute stress, and produces rapid antidepressant effects in a chronic corticosterone model of anhedonia. These findings suggest 25C-NBF may offer a fast-acting antidepressant with no abuse potential or sensorimotor deficits.