Stereochemistry of mephedrone neuropharmacology: enantiomer‐specific behavioural and neurochemical effects in rats
British Journal of Pharmacology September 26, 2014 Ryan A. Gregg, Michael H. Baumann, John S. Partilla et al. 79 citations
The synthetic cathinone mephedrone (MEPH) has two mirror-image forms (enantiomers), R-MEPH and S-MEPH, which produce different effects in rats. Both enantiomers similarly release dopamine, but R-MEPH is much weaker than S-MEPH at releasing serotonin. R-MEPH caused more repetitive movements, produced sensitization to those movements after repeated doses, and was rewarding in a conditioned place preference test, whereas S-MEPH was not. In a brain-stimulation reward test, both enantiomers showed biphasic effects, but R-MEPH produced greater facilitation. These findings indicate that R-MEPH's stronger dopamine actions and weaker serotonin actions make it more stimulant-like than S-MEPH.