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

Abstract

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM) are amphetamine congeners that produce both amphetamine-like and LSD-like effects. To evaluate whether MDA and DOM should be classed with amphetamine, their capacity to produce amphetamine-like discriminative stimuli was assessed. Rats were trained to discriminate between saline and 1.0 mg/kg d-amphetamine in a two choice, discrete trial shock avoidance paradigm. Neither MDA nor DOM produced any amphetamine-appropriate responding when tested over a 30-fold dose range. The specificity of the procedure to detect amphetamine-like effects was demonstrated by the failure of LSD to produce any amphetamine-appropriate responding. These results suggest that neither MDA nor DOM should be classed as amphetamine-like agents.