Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42873221›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2026

Exploring the addictive potential of α-methylfentanyl and acetyl-α-methylfentanyl in animal models.

Deli Xu, Xuesong Shi, Kaixi Li, Lixin Kuai, Xuwen Luo, Yuanyuan Chen, Bin Di, Peng Xu

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Article in Psychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Deli XuKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Xuesong ShiKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Kaixi LiKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Lixin KuaiKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Xuwen LuoKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Yuanyuan ChenKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China.
Bin DiOffice of China National Narcotics Control Commission-China Pharmaceutical University Joint Laboratory on Key Technologies of Narcotics Control, Beijing, 100193, China. dibin@cpu.edu.cn.
Peng XuKey Laboratory of Drug Monitoring and Control, Drug Intelligence and Forensic Center, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing, 100193, China. dongwufang123@163.com.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82130056
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe abuse profiles of α-methylfentanyl and acetyl-α-methylfentanyl remain poorly characterized in preclinical models. This study systematically evaluated their addiction-related behaviours and underlying pharmacological features.

methodsConditioned place preference (CPP) was tested in mice with gradient doses of fentanyl, α-methylfentanyl and acetyl-α-methylfentanyl. Intravenous self-administration, behavioural economic demand curves, cue- and drug-primed reinstatement, and drug discrimination assays were conducted in rats. ED₅₀ values were calculated and compared across compounds.

resultsAll three compounds induced significant CPP, with acetyl-α-methylfentanyl showing ~ 30-fold lower potency. In self-administration, all compounds produced inverted U-shaped dose-response curves, with peak infusion rates at 0.5 µg/kg/infusion. Fentanyl exhibited the highest essential value (EV) in demand curve analysis, indicating stronger reinforcing efficacy. A single naloxone pretreatment significantly attenuated both cue- and drug-primed reinstatement. Drug discrimination ED₅₀ was 11.06, 12.65 and 128.3 µg/kg for fentanyl, α-methylfentanyl and acetyl-α-methylfentanyl, respectively.

conclusionsα-methyl substitution selectively reduces reinforcing efficacy without altering reward perception; acetylation attenuates both reward and discriminative stimulus effects while preserving reinforcing capacity. µ-Opioid receptor signalling mediates relapse-like behaviour, supporting long-acting antagonists as potential interventions.

Indexed as

Acetyl-α-methylfentanylConditioned place preferenceDrug discriminationRelapseSelf-administrationα-methylfentanyl

Identifiers

PMID42873221

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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.