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Reinforcing effects of abused “bath salts” constituent 3,4‐methylenedioxypyrovalerone in mice and rats (661.7)
Author(s) -
Gan Brenda,
Norwood Andrew,
Tai Sherrica,
Bailey Jessica,
Fantegrossi William
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.661.7
Subject(s) - pharmacology , drugs of abuse , designer drug , monoamine neurotransmitter , stimulation , chemistry , stimulus (psychology) , mdma , medicine , drug , psychology , serotonin , receptor , psychotherapist
Recently, synthetic analogues of naturally‐occurring cathinone in commercial “bath salt” preparations have emerged as psychostimulant‐like drugs of abuse. 3,4‐Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a common constituent of these illicit products, and recent studies implicate monoamine transporters as mediators of its pharmacological effects. In these studies, adult male NIH Swiss mice and Sprague Dawley rats were used to assess reinforcing effects of MDPV in assays of two‐bottle choice oral self‐administration (mice), responding maintained by a drug‐paired stimulus complex (mice), and intravenous self‐administration (rats). In mice, MDPV concentrations sufficient to produce locomotor stimulation (0.1 and 0.3 mg/ml) and lethality (1 mg/ml) were consumed when the alternative fluid was 0.1 mg/ml quinine. However, when water was available as an alternative to MDPV, very little MDPV consumption occurred at the concentrations which previously elicited biological effects. In subsequent studies, mice were implanted with radiotelemetry probes to simultaneously measure core temperature and locomotor activity, and provided with MDPV solutions to drink (0.03, 0.1, 0.3, and 1 mg/ml). Separate groups of mice were trained to respond under an FR5 schedule reinforced by milk presentations. In pairing sessions, MDPV (0, 1 or 10 mg/kg) was administered IP in the presence of a novel light+tone stimulus complex. The light+tone stimulus complex was contingently available under a PR schedule after 0, 3 or 6 pairings with MDPV, but no apparent reinforcing effects were observed. In contrast, MDPV was an effective intravenous reinforcer across a wide range of unit doses (0.003, 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, and 0.3 mg/kg/infusion) in rats previously trained to self‐administer phencyclidine (PCP) and its analogue methoxetamine (MXE). Possible explanations for the discrepancy in apparent reinforcing effects of MDPV may be related to route of administration or species differences and will be discussed. Grant Funding Source : Supported by RR020146 and RR029884