Stimulant effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in the nucleus accumbens of rat.
This study examined the behavioral effects in rats of intracerebral administration of S(+)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (S-MDMA) using an automated holeboard and open-field apparatus. Administration of S-MDMA into the nucleus accumbens septi produced locomotor hyperactivity. Although the stimulant effects of S-MDMA administered systemically are antagonized by fluoxetine pretreatment, the activating effects of S-MDMA administered into the nucleus accumbens were not antagonized by fluoxetine. A similar increase in locomotor activity was observed after S-amphetamine administration into the nucleus accumbens. In contrast, the selective 5-HT-releasing drug and S-MDMA congener N-methyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-butanamine (MBDB) produces MDMA-like locomotor hyperactivity when administered systemically but did not alter locomotor activity when injected into the nucleus accumbens. These data indicate that S-MDMA actions in the nucleus accumbens are pharmacologically distinct from the primary effects of systemically administered S-MDMA. Behavioral effects of S-MDMA in the nucleus accumbens may result from the catecholamine-releasing properties that S-MDMA shares with S-amphetamine and not via the 5-HT-releasing properties that it shares with MBDB.
Department of Psychiatry, UCSD School of Medicine, La Jolla 92093-0804.
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Geyer
D015104:3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D005473:Fluoxetine; C051570:N-methyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-butanamine; D015104:3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine; D000661:Amphetamine; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine