ArticlePsychopharmacology2016
Reinforcing and neurochemical effects of the "bath salts" constituents 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone (methylone) in male rats.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 99 citations in OpenAlex.
- Synthetic Cathinones and Neurotoxicity Risks: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Locomotor and discriminative stimulus effects of N-cyclohexyl butylone and N-cyclohexyl methylone.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Treatment with rapamycin prevents induction and expression of locomotor sensitization to synthetic cathinone 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in mice.Forensic toxicology · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular and locomotor effects of binary mixtures of common 'bath salts' constituents: Studies with methylone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone and caffeine in rats.British journal of pharmacology · 2025Article
- Reinforcing effects of fentanyl analogs found in illicit drug markets.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Structure-Activity Relationship of Synthetic Cathinones: An Updated Review.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2024Review
- Synthetic Cathinones: Epidemiology, Toxicity, Potential for Abuse, and Current Public Health Perspective.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Dopamine Concentration Changes Associated with the Retrodialysis of Methylone and 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) into the Caudate Putamen.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Cardiovascular and Locomotor Effects of Binary Mixtures of Common "Bath Salts" Constituents: Studies with Methylone, MDPV, and Caffeine in Rats.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Pharmacological effects of methylone and MDMA in humans.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Reinforcing effects of phenethylamine analogs found in dietary supplements.Psychopharmacology · 2022Article
- Effects of the Phenethylamine 2-Cl-4,5-MDMA and the Synthetic Cathinone 3,4-MDPHP in Adolescent Rats: Focus on Sex Differences.Biomedicines · 2022Article
- Brain Concentrations of MDPV and its Metabolites in Male Rats: Relationship to Pharmacodynamic Effects.Current pharmaceutical design · 2022Article
- Non-conserved residues dictate dopamine transporter selectivity for the potent synthetic cathinone and psychostimulant MDPV.Neuropharmacology · 2021Article
- An updated review on synthetic cathinones.Archives of toxicology · 2021Review
- Cannabidiol Modulates the Motivational and Anxiety-Like Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Brain Concentrations of Methylone and Its Metabolites after Systemic Methylone Administration: Relationship to Pharmacodynamic Effects.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2021Article
- MDPV "high-responder" rats also self-administer more oxycodone than their "low-responder" counterparts under a fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement.Psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- MDPV self-administration in female rats: influence of reinforcement history.Psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Stereoselective neurochemical, behavioral, and cardiovascular effects of α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone enantiomers in male rats.Addiction biology · 2020Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationale3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone (methylone) are synthetic drugs found in so-called "bath salts" products. Both drugs exert their effects by interacting with monoamine transporter proteins. MDPV is a potent uptake blocker at transporters for dopamine and norepinephrine while methylone is a non-selective releaser at transporters for dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin (5-HT).
objectivesWe hypothesized that prominent 5-HT-releasing actions of methylone would render this drug less reinforcing than MDPV.
methodsTo test this hypothesis, we compared behavioral effects of MDPV and methylone using intravenous (i.v.) self-administration on a fixed-ratio 1 schedule in male rats. Additionally, neurochemical effects of the drugs were examined using in vivo microdialysis in nucleus accumbens, in a separate cohort of rats.
resultsMDPV self-administration (0.03 mg/kg/inj) was acquired rapidly and reached 40 infusions per session, similar to the effects of cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/inj), by the end of training. In contrast, methylone self-administration (0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg/inj) was acquired slowly, and response rates only reached 20 infusions per session by the end of training. In dose substitution studies, MDPV and cocaine displayed typical inverted U-shaped dose-effect functions, but methylone did not. In vivo microdialysis revealed that i.v. MDPV (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) increased extracellular dopamine while i.v. methylone (1 and 3 mg/kg) increased extracellular dopamine and 5-HT.
conclusionsOur findings support the hypothesis that elevations in extracellular 5-HT in the brain can dampen positive reinforcing effects of cathinone-type drugs. Nevertheless, MDPV and methylone are both self-administered by rats, suggesting these drugs possess significant abuse liability in humans.
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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.