MDA and DOM: substituted amphetamines that do not produce amphetamine-like discriminative stimuli in the rat

3,4-Methylenedioxy analogues of amphetamine: defining the risks to humans

The 3,4-methylenedioxy analogues of amphetamine [MDMA ("Ecstasy", "Adam"), MDA ("Love") and MDE ("Eve")] are recreational drugs that produce feelings of euphoria and energy and a desire to socialize, which go far to explain their current popularity as "rave drugs". In addition to these positive effects, the drugs are relatively inexpensive to purchase and have the reputation of being safe compared to other recreational drugs. Yet there is mounting evidence that these drugs do not deserve this reputation of being safe. This review examines the relevant human and animal literature to delineate the possible risks MDMA, MDA and MDE engender with oral consumption in humans. Following a summary of the behavioral and cognitive effects of MDMA, MDA and MDE, risks will be discussed in terms of toxicity, psychopathology, neurotoxicity, abuse potential and the potential for drug-drug interactions associated with acute and chronic use.

Dexfenfluramine lacks amphetamine-like abuse potential

1. The amphetamine-like abuse potential of dexfenfluramine (dFEN) was evaluated using drug discrimination and self-administration procedures. 2. Male Fischer rats were trained to discriminate either dFEN (1.0 mg/kg) or d-amphetamine (dAMP; 1.0 mg/kg) from saline in a two-choice discrete-trial avoidance paradigm. 3. In dAMP-trained rats, dFEN (0.5-4.0 mg/kg) engendered almost exclusively saline-appropriate responding. In dFEN-trained rats, dAMP (1.0-4.0 mg/kg) engendered entirely saline-appropriate responding in 3 of 6 rats and intermediate levels of dFEN-appropriate responding in the remaining animals. 4. Potential reinforcing effects of dFEN were also evaluated in 3 male rhesus monkeys trained to self-administer cocaine (i.v.) during daily 60 min sessions under a fixed-ratio (FR)-10 schedule. 5. Various doses of dFEN (30-1000 micrograms/kg/infusion) and dAMP (10 micrograms/kg/infusion) were substituted for cocaine in 4 consecutive daily sessions. In all subjects, dFEN maintained rates of self-administration within the range of rates maintained by saline and considerably below those maintained by cocaine and dAMP. Furthermore, the within-session distribution of responding with dFEN resembled that produced by saline. 6. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that dFEN will not have amphetamine-like abuse potential in humans.

Ecstacy: a review of MDMA and MDA

The Drug Enforcement Administration classified the drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA, also known as Ecstacy, as a Schedule I controlled substance on July 1, 1985. The controversy surrounding the classification of MDMA is related to the question of its efficacy as an adjunct to psychotherapy and the larger issue of how to regulate the production and use of designer drugs. The authors review the literature on MDMA and its predecessor, MDA, a substance that differs from MDMA by one methyl group.

Hallucinogenic amphetamine selectively destroys brain serotonin nerve terminals

(+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), an amphetamine analog with hallucinogenic activity, produced selective long-lasting reductions in the level of serotonin, the number of serotonin uptake sites, and the concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in rat brain. Morphological studies suggested that these neurochemical deficits were due to serotonin nerve terminal degeneration. These results show that MDA has toxic activity for serotonin neurons in rats and raise the question of whether exposure to MDA and related hallucinogenic amphetamines can produce serotonin neurotoxicity in the human brain.

Further investigation of the discriminative stimulus properties of MDA

Rats trained to discriminate either (+)-amphetamine or (+/-)-MDA from saline in a two-lever drug discrimination task, were used to study the stimulus effects of MDA and its two optical isomers. Amphetamine-stimulus generalization occurred to S(+)-MDA, but not to its enantiomer R(-)-MDA. This, coupled with our earlier finding of DOM-stimulus generalization to R(-)-MDA but not to S(+)-MDA, suggests that the stimulus effects of S(+)-MDA are predominantly amphetamine-like while those of R(-)-MDA are more DOM-like. Thus, animals trained to discriminate racemic MDA from saline can apparently recognize members of both classes of agents.

MDA: a psychoactive agent with dual stimulus effects

Rats were trained to discriminate injections of either (+)-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) or racemic MDA (1.5 mg/kg) from saline in a two-lever drug discrimination task. After stable discrimination performances (greater than 85%) were attained in each group, stimulus generalization studies were conducted. The amphetamine-stimulus generalized to MDA, but not to the hallucinogenic agent DOM; the MDA-stimulus generalized to both amphetamine and DOM. Taken together with our previous finding that DOM-stimulus generalization occurs to MDA but not to amphetamine, the present study suggests that MDA is capable of producing dual stimulus effects in animals. In addition to these salient features, the results of this study also have an impact on stimulus specificity, and further emphasize the importance of thorough dose-response relationships as related to tests of stimulus generalization.