Eutylone history selectively impacts the rewarding and aversive effects of cocaine, MDMA, and eutylone in female Sprague-Dawley rats.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior March 1, 2026 Negar G Ardabili, Shira Tan, María Elisa Márquez De Prado Arrarás et al.
A history of exposure to the synthetic cathinone eutylone alters the rewarding but not the aversive effects of cocaine and MDMA in female rats. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were given prior eutylone or saline, then underwent conditioning where saccharin taste and a distinct compartment were paired with cocaine, MDMA, or eutylone. All three drugs produced taste avoidance. Prior eutylone reduced the taste avoidance caused by eutylone itself but did not affect avoidance caused by cocaine or MDMA. Eutylone history had no effect on place preferences for MDMA or eutylone but increased place preferences for cocaine. The dissociable effects on reward versus aversion suggest that the subjective effects of eutylone differ from those of MDMA and cocaine, and that the neural bases for these drug effects are separable.