Contrasting effects of d-methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone, and 4-methylmethcathinone on wheel activity in rats
Drug and Alcohol Dependence June 3, 2012 Pai-Kai Huang, S. Aarde, D. Angrish et al. 74 citations
Recreational use of the synthetic cathinones mephedrone (4-MMC) and MDPV is increasing, with reports of severe symptoms and deaths, but laboratory research on their effects is limited. In male Wistar rats, MDPV and methamphetamine produced a biphasic pattern of voluntary wheel running—higher activity at low doses and lower activity at the highest dose—while 4-MMC and MDMA caused dose-dependent reductions in activity. These results mirror the drugs' known effects on dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission, suggesting MDPV acts as a typical stimulant and 4-MMC resembles the entactogen MDMA, which may predict different abuse patterns and toxicities.