Cocaine-stimulus generalization to two new designer drugs: methcathinone and 4-methylaminorex.
Rats were trained to discriminate 8 mg/kg cocaine from saline vehicle for the purpose of examining the stimulus properties of two novel and structurally related drugs of abuse recently confiscated on the illicit market: (+/-)methcathinone and cis(+/-)4-methylaminorex. The stimulus properties of these controlled substance analogs were compared with those of their parent compounds (+/-)cathinone and aminorex, respectively. All agents resulted in cocaine-stimulus generalization with the following rank order of potency: aminorex (ED50 value = 0.8 microM/kg) > methcathinone (1.9 microM/kg) > cathinone (3.7 microM/kg) > 4-methylaminorex (5.2 microM/kg) > cocaine (7.6 microM/kg).
Department of Medical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0540.
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Young
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Glennon
D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus / Q000187:drug effects*; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D010080:Oxazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011427:Propiophenones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D015198:Designer Drugs; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D010080:Oxazoles; D011427:Propiophenones; C047806:monomethylpropion; C000081:4-methylaminorex; D003042:Cocaine