Effects of Serial Polydrug Use on the Rewarding and Aversive Effects of the Novel Synthetic Cathinone Eutylone

BACKGROUND

As individual synthetic cathinones become scheduled and regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), new ones regularly are produced and distributed. One such compound is eutylone, a novel third-generation synthetic cathinone whose affective properties (and abuse potential) are largely unknown. The following experiments begin to characterize these effects and how they may be impacted by drug history (a factor affecting reward/aversion for other drugs of abuse).

METHODS

Eutylone was assessed for its ability to induce conditioned taste avoidance (CTA; aversive effect) and conditioned place preference (CPP; rewarding effect) and their relationship (Experiment 1). Following this, the effects of exposure to cocaine or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA] on eutylone's affective properties were investigated (Experiment 2).

RESULTS

Eutylone produced dose-dependent CTA and CPP (Experiment 1), and these endpoints were unrelated. Pre-exposure to cocaine and MDMA differentially impacted taste avoidance induced by eutylone (MDMA > cocaine) and did not impact eutylone-induced place preference.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that eutylone, like other synthetic cathinones, has co-occurring, independent rewarding and aversive effects that may contribute to its abuse potential and that these effects are differentially impacted by drug history. Although these studies begin the characterization of eutylone, future studies should examine the impact of other factors on eutylone's affective properties and its eventual reinforcing effects (i.e., intravenous self-administration [IVSA]) to predict its use and abuse liability.

Male and female C57BL/6 mice display drug-induced aversion and reward in the combined conditioned taste avoidance/conditioned place preference procedure

BACKGROUND

Drugs of abuse have rewarding and aversive effects that, in balance, impact abuse potential. Although such effects are generally examined in independent assays (e.g., CPP and CTA, respectively), a number of studies have examined these effects concurrently in rats in a combined CTA/CPP design. The present study assessed if similar effects can be produced in mice which would allow for determining how each is affected by subject and experiential factors relevant to drug use and abuse and the relationship between these affective properties.

METHODS

Male and female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a novel saccharin solution, injected (IP) with saline or 5.6, 10 or 18 mg/kg of the synthetic cathinone, methylone, and placed on one side of the place conditioning apparatus. The following day, they were injected with saline, given access to water and placed on the other side of the apparatus. After four conditioning cycles, saccharin avoidance and place preferences were assessed in a final two-bottle CTA test and a CPP Post-Test, respectively.

RESULTS

In the combined CTA/CPP design, mice acquired a significant dose-dependent CTA (p = 0.003) and a significant CPP (p = 0.002). These effects were independent of sex (all p's > 0.05). Further, there was no significant relationship between the degree of taste avoidance and place preference (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Similar to rats, mice displayed significant CTA and CPP in the combined design. It will be important to extend this design in mice to other drugs and to examine the impact of different subject and experiential factors on these effects to facilitate predictions of abuse liability.