Rewarding properties of 1-benzylpiperazine, a new drug of abuse, in rats

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology
Esa MeririnneTimo Seppälä

Abstract

1-Benzylpiperazine (also known as 'Legal X', 'Legal E', or 'A2') is a psychoactive compound increasingly encountered on the clandestine market. Previous experimental data suggest that the compound possesses addictive properties. In the present study, we used the conditioned place preference method in the rat to test whether 1-benzylpiperazine possesses rewarding properties. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the 1-benzylpiperazine reward were investigated using selected dopamine and serotonin receptor antagonists. 1-Benzylpiperazine (1.25, 5, and 20 mg/kg) induced dose-dependently place preference. This place preference was attenuated by the antagonists SCH23390 (0.2 mg/kg; dopamine D1-like receptors) and MDL72222 (1.0 mg/kg; serotonin3 receptors), but not by raclopride (0.8 mg/kg; dopamine D2-like receptors) or ketanserin (2 mg/kg; preferentially serotonin2 receptors). Our results show that 1-benzylpiperazine possesses rewarding properties in the rat, which suggests the compound to be susceptible to human abuse. The brain dopaminergic and serotonergic systems appear to be involved in the 1-benzylpiperazine reward.

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Citations

May 21, 2013·Archives of Toxicology·Márcia Sá MonteiroMárcia Carvalho
Jul 11, 2013·Behavioural Pharmacology·Lucas R WattersonMichael Foster Olive
Apr 19, 2011·Clinical Toxicology : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists·Leo J SchepPaul Gee
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Nov 23, 2019·Journal of Applied Toxicology : JAT·Caroline SoutoMarcelo Dutra Arbo
Mar 1, 2011·Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine·John TullyColm McDonald

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