Effect of Some Psychoactive Drugs Used as ‘Legal Highs’ on Brain Neurotransmitters
Neurotoxicity Research April 1, 2016 Krystyna Gołembiowska, Alexandra Jurczak, Katarzyna Kamińska et al.
New psychoactive designer drugs like PMA, PMMA, and mephedrone, which are used as substitutes in ecstasy pills, increase the release of dopamine and serotonin in rat brain regions including the striatum, nucleus accumbens, and frontal cortex, similar to MDMA. The drugs also altered tissue levels of these neurotransmitters in region-specific ways: for example, mephedrone and PMMA increased dopamine in the striatum, while mephedrone and PMMA decreased dopamine in the frontal cortex. These changes suggest the drugs may have dependence potential, though further research is needed to assess neurotoxicity and abuse risk.