The abuse-related effects of pyrrolidine-containing cathinones are related to their potency and selectivity to inhibit the dopamine transporter.

ABSTRACT: Synthetic cathinones are common constituents of abused "bath salts" preparations and represent a large family of structurally related compounds that function as cocaine-like inhibitors or amphetamine-like substrates of dopamine (DAT), norepinephrine (NET), and serotonin (SERT) transporters. Preclinical evidence suggests that some cathinones (e.g., MDPV and α-PVP) are more effective reinforcers than prototypical stimulant drugs of abuse, such as cocaine or methamphetamine. Although the reinforcing potency of these cathinones is related to their potency to inhibit DAT, less is known about the pharmacological determinants of their unusually high reinforcing effectiveness. To this end, we tested the hypothesis that reinforcing effectiveness of cathinone stimulants is positively correlated with

SUBMITTER: Gannon BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6180085 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature