title: Place preference and microdialysis studies with two derivatives of methylphenidate.
abstract: Conditioned place preference studies with derivatives of dl-threo-methylphenidate (Ritalin) which bear a bromine atom or a methoxy group on the para position of the phenyl ring are reported. Both derivatives, as well as methylphenidate itself, induced a significant increase in place preference when administered i/p to rats at 10 mg/Kg, compared with saline conditioned controls. The change for p-bromomethylphenidate was slightly greater than that seen for methylphenidate or p-methoxymethylphenidate. Extracellular dopamine in the striatum, and locomotor activity, were also increased by i/p administration of p-methoxymethylphenidate (20 mg/Kg) to a similar extent to the increases seen with this dose of methylphenidate or p-bromomethylphenidate in an earlier study (Pan et al. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 264: 177-182, 1994). Administration of p-methoxymethylphenidate failed to abolish increases in extracellular dopamine and locomotor activity induced by subsequent administration of cocaine (20 mg/Kg). It is concluded that the methylphenidate derivatives share the general pharmacological properties of other psychostimulant drugs.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA. gatley@brain.med.bnl.gov
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Gatley
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Schechter
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dewey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017551:Microdialysis; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D008774:Methylphenidate; D004298:Dopamine