RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Discriminative Stimulus and Subject-Rated Effects of Methamphetamine, <em>d</em>-Amphetamine, Methylphenidate, and Triazolam in Methamphetamine-Trained Humans
JF Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
JO J Pharmacol Exp Ther
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 1007
OP 1018
DO 10.1124/jpet.108.147124
VO 328
IS 3
A1 Rajkumar J. Sevak
A1 William W. Stoops
A1 Lon R. Hays
A1 Craig R. Rush
YR 2009
UL http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/328/3/1007.abstract
AB Methamphetamine abuse is a significant public health concern. Although widely studied in laboratory animals, little is known about the abuse-related behavioral effects of methamphetamine relative to other abused stimulants in controlled laboratory settings in humans. The aim of this study was to examine the discriminative stimulus, subject-rated, performance, and cardiovascular effects of methamphetamine in humans. In the present study, subjects first learned to discriminate 10 mg of oral methamphetamine from placebo. After acquiring the discrimination (≥80% drug-appropriate responding on four consecutive sessions), a range of oral doses of methamphetamine (2.5-15 mg), d-amphetamine (2.5-15 mg), methylphenidate (5-30 mg), and triazolam (0.0625-0.375 mg) was tested. Methamphetamine functioned as a discriminative stimulus and produced prototypical stimulant-like subject-rated effects. d-Amphetamine and methylphenidate produced dose-related increases in methamphetamine-appropriate responding, whereas triazolam did not. d-Amphetamine and methylphenidate produced stimulant-like behavioral effects, whereas triazolam produced sedative-like effects. Methamphetamine, but no other drug, increased heart rate, systolic pressure, and diastolic pressure significantly above placebo levels. Performance in the Digit-Symbol Substitution Test was not affected by any of the drugs tested. Overall, these results demonstrate that the acute behavioral effects of methamphetamine, d-amphetamine, and methylphenidate overlap extensively in humans, which is concordant with findings from preclinical studies. Future studies should assess whether the similarity in the behavioral effects of methamphetamine and related stimulants can be extended to other behavioral assays, such as measures of reinforcement, in humans. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics