zimeldine and 4-methoxyamphetamine

Illicit use of p-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) is rapidly increasing. However, little is known about the acute effects of PMA on neurotransmission in vivo. High-speed chronoamperometry was used to monitor neurotransmitter release and clearance in anesthetized rats after local application of PMA or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). In striatum, PMA caused less neurotransmitter release than MDMA. PMA-evoked release could be partially blocked by pre-treatment with a serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, suggesting that evoked 5-HT release contributed to the electrochemical signal and was mediated by the 5-HT transporter (SERT). MDMA-evoked release was not blocked by a SERT inhibitor, suggesting that primarily DA was released. To study the effect of these amphetamines on clearance of 5-HT mediated specifically by the SERT, clearance of exogenously applied 5-HT was measured in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. In contrast to the striatum where 5-HT is cleared by both the SERT and the dopamine transporter (DAT), 5-HT is cleared primarily by the SERT in the CA3 region. This is also a region where neither PMA nor MDMA evoked release of neurotransmitter. The maximal inhibition of 5-HT clearance was greater after PMA than MDMA. These data demonstrate in vivo (1) brain region variability in the ability of PMA and MDMA to evoke release of neurotransmitter; (2) that clearance of 5-HT in the striatum is mediated by both the SERT and the DAT; (3) distinct differences in the amount and nature of neurotransmitter released in the striatum after local application of PMA and MDMA and (4) that PMA is a more efficacious inhibitor of 5-HT clearance in the hippocampus than MDMA. These fundamental differences may account for the more severe adverse reactions seen clinically after PMA, compared to MDMA.

Topics: Amphetamines; Animals; Calibration; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Male; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; Neurotransmitter Agents; Oxidation-Reduction; Piperazines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Serotonin; Serotonin Agents; Zimeldine