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High doses of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) have been shown to cause long-lasting depletions of central serotonin (5-HT) which are indicative of neuronal toxicity. The noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist dizocilpine (DZ) attenuates depletions of 5-HT induced by MDMA. Because DZ has been shown to induce hypothermia in rat models of ischemia, the purpose of this study was to assess whether DZ and two other glutamate antagonists, CGS 19755 (CGS) and 2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo(F)quinoxaline (NBQX), protect against MDMA-induced 5-HT depletions by induction of hypothermia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with either saline (SAL), DZ (2.5 mg/kg), CGS (25.0 or 50.0 mg/kg x 2 injections) or NBQX (30.0 mg/kg x 2 injections or 55.0 mg/kg x 3 injections) followed by either MDMA (40.0 mg/kg) or SAL. Core body temperature (TEMP) was monitored for 4 h or longer using radiotelemetry. Base-line TEMP was between 37.0 and 37.6 degrees C. Administration of DZ with MDMA decreased TEMP to 34.0 +/- 0.39 degrees C within 2 h of the MDMA injection, and also protected against serotonergic toxicity. Neither SAL/MDMA nor DZ/SAL had an effect on TEMP over the same period. When rats were treated with DZ/MDMA and TEMP was maintained between 38.4 degrees C and 40.4 degrees C for 4 h, protection against 5-HT depletion was abolished. Coadministration of the competitive NMDA antagonist CGS with MDMA-resulted in a decrease in TEMP to 34.5 +/- 0.27 degrees C, and provided partial protection against 5-HT depletions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Several amphetamine analogs, when administered in high-dose regimens, have been shown to cause long-lasting depletions of central serotonin (5-HT), which are indicative of neuronal toxicity. These depletions and the resulting toxicity can be attenuated pharmacologically or by lowering ambient temperature. The noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist dizocilpine (DZ) blocks depletion of 5-HT induced by methamphetamine (METH) and p-chloroamphetamine (PCA), but not fenfluramine (FEN). This study investigated whether the effects of DZ and another calcium channel antagonist, dextromethorphan (DEX), are due to induction of hypothermia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with either saline (SAL), DZ (1 or 2 injections of 2.5 mg/kg), or DEX (75.0 mg/kg) followed by either SAL, METH (4 injections of 10.0 mg/kg), PCA (1 injection of 10.0 mg/kg) or FEN (2 or 4 injections of 12.5 mg/kg). Core body temperature (TEMP) was monitored for 4 h or longer with radiotelemetry. Base-line TEMP was between 37.0 and 37.6 degrees C. SAL/METH caused a significant increase in TEMP which peaked at 40.8 +/- 0.50 degrees C after the last injection. Coadministration of DZ with METH caused TEMP to decrease to 33.8 +/- 0.30 degrees C within 2 h of the first injection and lasting more than 3 h, and protected against depletion of 5-HT. SAL/PCA caused a small increase in TEMP to 37.7 +/- 0.36 degrees C, whereas coadministration of DZ with PCA decreased TEMP to 35.2 +/- 0.50 degrees C, lasting 2 h, in a dose regimen which has been shown to be neuroprotective.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The substituted amphetamine 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been shown to be neurotoxic to serotonin (5HT) terminals in the rat, and rat body temperature (TEMP) has been shown to affect this neurotoxicity. This study looked at the effect on CORE TEMP of three drugs that protect against MDMA neurotoxicity in the rat. Male Holtzmann rats were injected with a control saline (SAL) injection or with ketanserin (KET; 6 mg/kg), alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT; 75 mg/kg) or fluoxetine (FLUOX; 10 mg/kg) before a 40-mg/kg MDMA or SAL injection. CORE TEMP was recorded throughout the study using a noninvasive peritoneally implanted temperature probe. Rats pretreated with KET had no change in CORE TEMP until MDMA was injected, at which time an immediate hypothermia was seen that continued for 180 minutes, with a peak low of 34.7 degrees C. Rats treated with AMPT had no change in CORE TEMP until the MDMA was injected, at which time an immediate hypothermia was seen that continued for 240 min., with a peak low of 34.3 degrees C. Two weeks later, brain regions were analyzed for 5-HT and 5-hydroxindole acetic acid levels. MDMA produced significant (P < .05) decreases in 5-HT and 5-hydroxindole acetic acid levels in the frontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, striatum and hippocampus, and pretreatment with KET or AMPT prevented these depletions. When rats were given the KET/MDMA or AMPT/MDMA drug injections and warmed to prevent hypothermia, the protection against neurotoxicity was removed, which indicated that the hypothermia mediated the protective effects of KET and AMPT. In comparison with the hypothermia seen with AMPT or KET pretreatment, pretreatment with FLUOX had no effect on CORE TEMP. The rats given the FLUOX/MDMA treatment did not have different CORE TEMPs than rats given SAL/MDMA. The FLUOX pretreatment protected against MDMA-induced 5-HT and 5-hydroxindole acetic acid depletions in the frontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, striatum and hippocampus. This study suggests that a decrease in CORE TEMP may be a mechanism of protection against MDMA neurotoxicity by some drugs but that there is also a mechanism of protection that is independent of a change in body temperature.

The effects of antidepressant drugs, administered with and without a 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) antagonist that is not selective for 5-HT receptor subtypes, were assessed in rats responding under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-second (DRL 72-s) schedule of reinforcement. The increases in reinforcement rate seen after low dose tricyclic antidepressant drug administration were antagonized by the 5-HT antagonist methysergide. Methysergide did not antagonize either the increases in reinforcement rate or the decreases in response rate induced by the atypical antidepressant trazodone or the putative antidepressant clenbuterol. In addition, the effects of 5-HT receptor antagonists with varying selectivity for the 5-HT2 relative to the 5-HT1 receptor subtypes were assessed when administered alone. The rank order potency series for the maximal increase in the reinforcement rate after administration of the 5-HT antagonists was ketanserin greater than pipamperone greater than trazodone greater than cyproheptadine greater than cinanserin greater than metergoline greater than methysergide, in close agreement with the selectivity of these drugs for the 5-HT2 relative to the 5-HT1 receptor subtypes. In addition, the specificity of the DRL 72-s schedule was further assessed with the alpha adrenergic antagonists phentolamine and phenoxybenzamine which both decreased the response rate but did not increase the reinforcement rate as do antidepressant drugs. These results suggest that the therapeutic effect of atypical antidepressants such as trazodone and mianserin may be related to selective antagonism of 5-HT2 receptors. Furthermore, agonist action at a 5-HT1 receptor and antagonist action at 5-HT2 receptors both appear to contribute to antidepressant-like activity on the DRL 72-s schedule.

Performance maintained by differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate operant schedules has been found to be sensitive to antidepressant drugs. Tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and atypical antidepressants reduce response rate and increase reinforcement rate under long differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules. In order to study the neurochemical mechanism by which the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine alters differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate performance, the effect of desipramine was determined before and after brain catecholamine depletion was induced by 6-hydroxydopamine administration. Before lesioning, desipramine reduced response rate and increased reinforcement rate in a dose-dependent manner. Brain norepinephrine depletion (produced by 6-hydroxydopamine injection into the dorsal noradrenergic bundle) attenuated the ability of desipramine to reduce response rate, but did not alter its ability to increase reinforcement rate, but did not alter its ability to increase reinforcement rate. Brain dopamine depletion, (produced by i.c.v. 6-hydroxydopamine administration after pargyline and desipramine pretreatment) attenuated the ability of desipramine to increase reinforcement rate. These results suggest that the sedative effect of desipramine could be mediated by its interaction with central norepinephrine neurons and that the reinforcement rate-increasing effect may involve central dopamine neurons.

The effects of eleven 5-hydroxytryptamine antagonists with varying selectivity for the 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5-HT2) relative to the 5-HT1 binding site were assessed in rats responding under a differential-reinforcement-of-low rate 72-sec (DRL 72-s) schedule of reinforcement. Three drugs with a 1000-fold selectivity for the 5-HT2 binding site (ketanserin, ritanserin, pipamperone) increased the reinforcement rate and decreased the response rate similar to antidepressant drugs. The two drugs with roughly the same affinity for both 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 binding sites (methysergide and metergoline) did not increase the reinforcement rate. The maximal increase in the reinforcement rate after 5-HT antagonist administration was positively correlated with the selectivity of the 5-HT antagonists for the 5-HT2 versus the 5-HT1 binding site. The increase in the reinforcement rate after administration of 5-HT antagonists was not correlated with the affinity of the 5-HT antagonists for the alpha-1 adrenergic, alpha-2 adrenergic, histamine-1 or dopamine-2 receptors. The 1000-fold selective 5-HT2 antagonist xylamidine, which does not pass the blood-brain barrier, did not increase the reinforcement rate or decrease the response rate. Thus, selective antagonism of central 5-HT2 relative to 5-HT1 receptors results in antidepressant-like effects on the DRL 72-s schedule. Furthermore, the specificity of the DRL 72-s schedule as a screen for antidepressant drugs was strengthened by the observation that the alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist, prazosin, did not increase the reinforcement rate despite significant decreases in the response rate.

Previous work in this laboratory has suggested that antagonist action of 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5-HT2) receptors and agonist action of 5-HT1 receptors results in antidepressant-like effects (increased reinforcement rate and decreased response rate) in rats performing under the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-sec schedule (DRL 72-s) of reinforcement. Serotonergic mediation of antidepressant drug effects on DRL 72-s behavior was assessed with a series of 5-HT agonists, and blockade of the effects of the antidepressant drugs clorgyline and fluoxetine (which presumably indirectly stimulate 5-HT1 receptors) was attempted in separate experiments with the 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 antagonist methysergide and the 5-HT neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine. Direct 5-HT1A agonists 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the 5-HT precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan all increased the reinforcement rate. The 5-HT1B and 5-HT1C agonists m-chlorophenylpiperazine and 1-(m-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine did not increase the reinforcement rate. The 5-HT2 agonist and 5-HT3 antagonist quipazine also did not increase the reinforcement rate. The monoamine oxidase inhibitor clorgyline and the 5-HT uptake inhibitor fluoxetine increased the reinforcement rate and decreased the response rate as seen with other antidepressant drugs on the DRL 72-s schedule. Methysergide antagonized the reinforcement rate increasing effects of both clorgyline and fluoxetine. Depletion of brain 5-HT with i.v.t. 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine blocked the antidepressant-like effects of clorgyline. These results suggest that central 5-HT1A receptors are involved in mediating the antidepressant-like effects of some drugs on DRL 72-s behavior. These results provide evidence that stimulation of 5-HT1A receptors and antagonism of 5-HT2 receptors lead to an antidepressant-like effect on the DRL 72-s schedule and implies that these two receptors may be important in mediating clinical drug effects in depression.

This study compared the effects of fenfluramine and fluoxetine on the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s schedule of reinforcement. Fluoxetine, a clinically effective antidepressant, increases extracellular serotonin (5-HT) by blocking the uptake of 5-HT after release. Fenfluramine increases extracellular 5-HT through transporter-mediated release (although it also blocks 5-HT uptake). The following characteristics were identified. First, fenfluramine and fluoxetine had two different effects on the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s schedule. Fluoxetine had an antidepressant-like effect by increasing reinforcement rate without disrupting the interresponse time distribution. Fenfluramine's effect on the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s schedule was not antidepressant-like: it did not increase the reinforcement rate, whereas it did disrupt the interresponse time distribution. Second, when fluoxetine and fenfluramine were given in combination, fluoxetine prevented the disruptive effects of fenfluramine. This result is consistent with fluoxetine's ability to block fenfluramine-induced 5-HT release, and supports the argument that the uptake transporter mediates fenfluramine's effects on both 5-HT release and behavior. Putative behavioral mechanisms (waiting capacity and temporal discrimination) which may mediate the acute effects of fluoxetine are discussed.

Eleven rats had access to water 2 hours daily and intake was measured every 20 minutes. When given intermittently, increasing doses of d-amphetamine (0.05-1.6 mg/rat) decreased total water intake and altered the within-session distribution of intake, with proportionately less intake occurring within early portions of the session after larger doses. Repeated administration of d-amphetamine (0.2, 0.8 or 1.6 mg/rat/day) completely attenuated the overall intake-decreasing effects of the drug; the time taken for recovery of total intake increased with increasing dose. Despite complete tolerance to its overall intake-decreasing effects, d-amphetamine produced persistent dose-related effects on the distribution of intake within sessions that were only partially attenuated with continued daily administration of the drug. Tolerance to the overall intake-decreasing effect of 1.6 mg was accompanied by parallel shifts toward larger doses in the dose-effect functions for total water intake and for the within-session distribution of intake. Redetermination of the dose-effect functions at several times after the repeated administration of 1.6 mg generally showed that tolerance of d-amphetamine was lost within 25 to 57 days after discontinuation of the drug.

Administration of d-amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg) or methylphenidate (20 mg/kg) decreased milk consumption in rats. When these drugs were administered daily, tolerance developed to this effect over the course of 20 days. Cross-tolerance to the effects on milk consumption occurred between d-amphetamine and methylphenidate over a 4-fold range of dose of both drugs. Administration of d-amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg) or methylphenidate (10 mg/kg) disrupted responding under differential-reinforcement-or-low-rate (DRL) contingencies. Both drugs increased response rate, decreased frequency of reinforcement and shifted the mode of the inter-response time distribution to the left. When the drugs were administered daily, tolerance developed to all these effects over the course of 20 days. Cross-tolerance to the effects on DRL behavior occurred between d-amphetamine and methylphenidate over a 4-fold range of dose of both drugs. Daily administration of d-amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg) but not of methylphenidate (20 mg/kg) resulted in decreased norepinephrine (NE) levels in brain; the decreased norepinephrine levels, which occur with repeated d-amphetamine administration, are believed to result from the storage in noradrenergic neurons of p-hydroxynorephedrine, a metabolite of d-amphetamine. Radioactivity was not detectable in brain 24 hours after the last of 15 daily doses of radiolabeled methylphenidate. These results suggest that d-amphetamine, but not methylphenidate, is metabolized to a compound which is stored in noradrenergic neurons. The existence of behavioral cross-tolerance between d-amphetamine and methylphenidate is therefore inconsistent with the hypothesis that tolerance to the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine is due to the metabolism of d-amphetamine to p-hydroxynorephedrine, a false transmitter in noradrenergic neurons.

The effects on food intake of repeated administration of d-amphetamine and fenfluramine were examined in rats adapted to a 4 hr/day feeding schedule. Control rats given daily injections of amphetamine before food access rapidly developed a partial tolerance to the food intake reducing effect of amphetamine. However, rats given a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-HDA) treatment which produced a large selective depletion of dopamine in brain failed to display tolerance to amphetamine-induced anorexia after either 10 or 23 days of amphetamine injections. Although higher than normal doses of amphetamine were required to reduce feeding in 6-HDA-treated rats, control rats displayed tolerance after repeated injections of drug doses which were either equianorexic or equivalent to doses used in rats given 6-HDA. Furthermore, 6-HDA-treated rats failed to display tolerance to the low amphetamine doses normally used in control rats. In contrast to the results with amphetamine, both control and 6-HDA-treated rats displayed tolerance to the anorexic effect of fenfluramine. These results suggest that central dopaminergic neurons are involved in the tolerance which normally develops to the anorexic effect of amphetamine.

The effects of antidepressant drugs in rats responding under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-sec schedule were assessed. Seven clinically used tricyclic antidepressant drugs (imipramine, desipramine, chlorimipramine, protriptyline, nortriptyline, amitriptyline and doxepin), two atypical antidepressants (iprindole and mianserin) and a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (tranylcypromine) dose-dependently reduced response rate and increased reinforcement rate. Nomifensine, an atypical antidepressant which has been reported to have psychomotor stimulant properties and abuse potential, increased response rate and decreased reinforcement rate. Chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic agent, and diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, have been reported to produce effects similar to antidepressants in several behavioral tests, but neither of these drugs mimicked the actions of antidepressants on responding under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-sec schedule. Chlorpromazine decreased response rate but did not increase reinforcement rate. Diphenhydramine did not have consistent effects but tended to decrease reinforcement rate. These findings suggest that behavior maintained by the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule may be selectively affected by antidepressants that have no psychomotor stimulant properties.

(+/-)-Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), a widely available anorectic and decongestant, was evaluated in several behavioral paradigms in rhesus monkeys and for central nervous system neurotoxicity in rats. PPA (1-30 mg/kg intragastric) reduced food intake in rhesus monkeys but was not self-administered i.v. (0.3-10 mg/kg/injection) by monkeys experienced in drug self-administration. PPA (30-100 mg/kg intragastric) resulted in amphetamine-like responding in two of four monkeys trained in a drug discrimination paradigm to discriminate d-amphetamine from saline. In rats, a 4-day injection regimen of high doses of PPA (200 and 400 mg/kg/day) resulted in approximately a 20% depletion of dopamine in the frontal cortex but failed to deplete dopamine, norepinephrine or serotonin in any other brain region studied. Thus, PPA is an effective anorectic in rhesus monkeys that, based upon drug discrimination results, would be expected to have limited amphetamine-like subjective effects and only at doses well in excess of effective anorectic doses. However, based upon self-administration results, PPA would not be predicted to have amphetamine-like dependence potential. Moreover, repeated administration of PPA did not produce the severe central nervous system neurotoxicity associated with many other amphetamine congeners.

In our study, age-matched Holtzman Sprague-Dawley rats (275-300 g) received injections with either saline (0.9%) or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; 20 mg/kg free base, s.c) twice daily for 4 days and allowed to recover for 2, 8, 16, 32 and 52 wk after the final injection before death. Radioligand binding studies with 125I-RTI-55 to dopamine uptake sites in striatal homogenates showed no effect of MDMA on the density of dopamine uptake sites. In contrast, saturation binding studies with 125I-RTI-55 to 5-HT uptake sites in hippocampal and frontal-parietal homogenates showed a significant reduction in the number of uptake sites at 2 wk after MDMA treatment (34 and 25%, respectively of controls). By 16 wk, a partial recovery in the number of 5-HT uptake sites was observed in both tissues; however, only a full recovery of serotonin uptake sites was observed in hippocampus at the end of 52 wk. In more detailed studies using autoradiography with 125I-RTI-55, recovery of serotonin uptake sites varied from region to region. In particular, recovery of 5-HT uptake sites in cerebral cortex was observed to follow a rostral-caudal gradient. In addition, recovery of 5-HT uptake site in hippocampus also followed a rostral-caudal gradient. Different rates of recovery of 5-HT uptake sites were also observed for cingulate cortex, laterodorsal thalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus. No effect of MDMA was observed over lateral hypothalamus, substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, or over serotonergic cell bodies such as dorsal raphe and median raphe. In conclusion, our study is consistent with previous studies describing the selective neurotoxicity of MDMA for serotonin neurons and presents evidence showing the rate of recovery of 5-HT uptake sites varies according to region and that recovery of 5-HT uptake sites in neocortex and hippocampus follows a rostral-caudal gradient.

The effects of a high dose methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) regimen on the serotonin (5-HT) system were evaluated over a 52-wk period. MDMA was administered to rats (20 mg/kg) 8 times at 12-hr intervals. Tissue concentrations of dopamine (DA) and 5-HT, and synaptosomal uptake of 3H-5-HT and 3H-DA were measured at 2, 8, 16, 32 or 52 wk posttreatment. Synaptosomal uptake of 3H-5-HT (hippocampus) was decreased at 2 and 8 wk, but not at 16, 32 or 52 wk after drug. 5-HT tissue concentrations were measured in frontal cortex, frontal-parietal cortex, occipital-temporal cortex, nucleus accumbens/olfactory tubercle, striatum, amygdala, hippocampus, septum, hypothalamus, ventral tegmentum/substantia nigra. Two weeks after MDMA treatment, all regions showed decreased 5-HT tissue concentrations except septum. Recovery over the 52-wk interval was noted for all depleted regions, but the rate and degree of recovery was region dependent. Frontal-parietal cortex, occipital-temporal cortex and hippocampus showed the least recovery, with significant depletions at 52 wk posttreatment. Hypothalamus showed an increase in 5-HT tissue concentrations relative to age-matched controls at 52 wk. These results indicate that a high-dose MDMA regimen results in long-lasting depletions of serotonin. The rate and degree of recovery of serotonin tissue concentrations seen over the 52-wk test period is region specific.

Fenfluramine is an anorectic agent in clinical use that is believed to act by enhancing 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neurotransmission. Tolerance to the anorectic properties of fenfluramine develops rapidly and long-lasting depletions of brain 5-HT have been reported to occur after repeated administration. It is possible that tolerance to fenfluramine may be related to the 5-HT depletions. Rats (n = 96), previously allowed to drink sweetened condensed milk during daily 15-min sessions, were treated with fenfluramine (6.25 mg/kg/12 hr x 4 days) or saline. Two or 8 weeks later rats were administered fenfluramine acutely (0, 1.25, 6.25 or 12.5 mg/kg; n = 6/group), tested for milk intake and sacrificed 2 hr later. Brains were removed and regions assayed for dopamine, 5-HT and metabolites. Acute administration of fenfluramine produced a dose-dependent decrease in milk intake and 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels in cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus. Tolerance to the effects of acute fenfluramine on milk intake was observed in rats at 2 weeks (ED50 = 3.24 vs. 6.37 mg/kg; saline vs. fenfluramine pretreatment, respectively) and, to a lesser extent, at 8 weeks (ED50 = 2.99 vs. 4.04 mg/kg; saline vs. fenfluramine pretreatment) after the 4-day regimen of fenfluramine. Levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in somatosensory cortex, hypothalamus, striatum and hippocampus were depleted significantly 2 weeks after the last daily fenfluramine injection. The acute 5-HT depleting effect of fenfluramine was markedly attenuated in these regions 2 weeks after the 4-day regimen of fenfluramine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

(+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) was administered s.c. to rats (10, 20 or 40 mg/kg b. wt.) and guinea pigs (20 mg/kg) twice a day for 4 days, 2 weeks before decapitation. Norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) levels were assayed in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, striatum and neocortex. In rats, MDMA produced dose-dependent reductions in 5-HT in all brain regions examined. The highest dose also reduced norepinephrine and/or dopamine in some regions. The 20-mg/kg dose of MDMA depleted 5-HT in all regions of the guinea pig brain assayed. In both species, repeated administration of 20 mg/kg of MDMA reduced the Vmax but not the Km of 5-HT uptake 2 weeks after administration. A single 40-mg/kg injection of MDMA depleted 5-HT 2 and 8 weeks after administration to rats in all regions of the brain examined except the hypothalamus. Administration of 80 mg/kg of MDMA twice a day for 2 days to rats depleted striatal 5-HT and dopamine. Brain sections from rats injected with MDMA according to this dosage regimen were stained by the Fink-Heimer method. Degenerating axon terminals and cell bodies were observed in the striatum and somatosensory cortex, respectively. These findings suggest that MDMA is toxic to serotonergic and, to a lesser extent, catecholaminergic neurons. Some neurons that do not contain these transmitters (neocortical neurons) are also affected.

Drug effects on operant behavior are often characterized by their effects on rate of responding, usually expressed as the number of responses per unit of time. The time between two consecutive responses constitutes an interresponse time (IRT), and this measure has been used also to characterize the effects of drugs on operant behavior. IRTs which occur during a session can be classified on a statistical basis as: 1) short-IRT, an IRT(s) of short duratio generated by high-frequency responses; 2) pause, an IRT of long duratio generated by low-frequency responses; and 3) post-reinforcement pause, an IRT which immediately follows reinforcement. This investigation used three schedules of water reinforcement (fixed-ratio 20, fixed-interval 90-seconds and variable-interval 20-seconds) to examine how these IRT classes are influenced by changes in water deprivation conditions or amphetamine administration. Base-line IRT distributions depended upon the schedule of reinforcement. Changes induced by doses of amphetamine or alterations in level of water deprivation were compared and contrasted. Short-IRTs that characterized fixed-ratio 20 performance were resistant to change with increasing doses of amphetamine, but were increased in duration with decreasing water deprivation. Animals responding on a fixed-interval 90-second schedule showed a decreased postreinforcement pause after amphetamine, but an increased postreinforcement pause after access to water. An additional experiment studied the combined effects of presession water consumption and d-amphetamine administration on variable interval performances. Making water available before the session lowered the amphetamine dose-response curve along the vertical axis, suggesting that amphetamine did not mimic satiation. In most cases the effect of amphetamine and changing levels of water deprivation were dissimilar in their effects on IRT distributions, suggesting that amphetamine does not exert its major action on behavior through its adipsic effect.