Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26255180›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2015

Preclinical characterization of toluene as a non-classical hallucinogen drug in rats: participation of 5-HT, dopamine and glutamate systems.

María Teresa Rivera-García, Carolina López-Rubalcava, Silvia L Cruz

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Assessing the effects of 5-HTPharmacological reports : PR · 2025
    Article
  2. Toluene Toxicity in the Brain: From Cellular Targets to Molecular Mechanisms.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

María Teresa Rivera-GarcíaDepartamento de Farmacobiología, Cinvestav, México, DF, Mexico.
Carolina López-Rubalcava
Silvia L Cruz
Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute · MX

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleToluene is a misused inhalant with hallucinogenic properties and complex effects. Toluene blocks N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, releases dopamine (DA), and modifies several neurotransmitter levels; nonetheless, the mechanism by which it produces hallucinations is not well characterized.

objectivesThis study aims (a) to study toluene's effects on the 5-HT2A-mediated head-twitch response (HTR), dopamine (DA), and serotonin (5-HT) tissue levels in discrete brain regions; (b) to compare the actions of toluene, ketamine, and 1-[2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl]-2-aminopropane (DOI) on HTR; and (c) to study the pharmacological blockade of toluene's and ketamine's effects by selective drugs.

methodsIndependent groups of rats inhaled toluene (500-12,000 ppm) for 30 min during which the occurrence of serotonergic signs was analyzed. Brains were obtained after exposure to determine DA and 5-HT levels by HPLC.

resultsToluene concentration-dependently induced HTR. Other serotonin syndrome signs were evident at high concentrations. Toluene (4000 and 8000 ppm), and ketamine (3 and 10 mg/kg), significantly increased 5-HT levels in the frontal cortex (FC) striatum, hippocampus, and brain stem, as well as DA levels in the striatum and FC. Pretreatment with ketanserin (5HT2A/2C receptor antagonist), M100907 (selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist), D-serine (co-agonist of the NMDA receptor glycine site), and haloperidol (D2 receptor antagonist) significantly decreased toluene's and ketamine's actions. The 5HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635 had no effect.

conclusionToluene stimulates 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptors, and increases 5-HT and DA levels. These actions are similar to those produced by ketamine and involve activation of a complex neurotransmitter network that includes NMDA receptor antagonism.

Indexed as

Administration, InhalationAnimalsCorpus StriatumDopamineDrug Evaluation, PreclinicalGlutamic AcidHallucinogensMaleRatsRats, WistarReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2AReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2CSerotoninSerotonin 5-HT2 Receptor AntagonistsTolueneDopamineGlutamic AcidHallucinogensReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2AReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2CSerotoninSerotonin 5-HT2 Receptor AntagonistsToluene

Identifiers

PMID26255180
OpenAlexW1099116183

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.