# Dissecting the Abuse Liability of  Cathinone and Amphetamine Stimulants

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2023 · $395,000

## Abstract

The abuse of psychomotor stimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as the
synthetic cathinone drugs (“bathsalts”), continues to wreak havoc worldwide and in the United States
of America, with most individuals that suffer with stimulant use disorders going untreated. The more
established stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine are highly addictive, can be acutely
lethal and can result in long-term brain alterations with many implications for health and well-being.
Recent studies show that synthetic cathinone psychoactive drugs 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone
(MDPV), α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP) and associated close analogs are a highly potent and
efficacious reinforcers in animal models. These compounds tend to be used as cheaper or more
available substitutes in lower socioeconomic populations, by incarcerated individuals, etc. Efforts to
develop small molecule or vaccine therapies for psychomotor stimulant dependence have not, as yet,
succeeded. It continues to be critical to better understand how stimulant dependence is established
and maintained so as to better prevent stimulant addiction before it is established. This project will
investigate the situational and behavioral contributors to escalating stimulant drug taking in rat models
of intravenous self-administration, consistent with the goals of NOSI NOT-DA-21-028. Studies
proposed under Aim I will determine if binge-like acquisition of psychostimulant self-administration
alters the propensity for escalated intake under extended access conditions. The goal is to
understand the consequences of initial uncontrolled consumption and whether that has lasting
consequences for dependence. Studies under Aim II will determine if the intra-cranial self-stimulation
(ICSS) reward threshold indexes the escalation in self-administration under extended access
conditions, in a novel test of a longstanding negative-reinforcement framework for understanding
escalating stimulant use. Finally, investigations under Aim III will determine if alternating cathinone
and methamphetamine use alters the escalation of self-administration. These novel poly-drug models
will address an understudied phenomenon whereby some human stimulant users substitute drugs
depending on cost and availability. In total, these proposed studies will advance our understanding of
the development of dependence on psychomotor stimulant drugs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10668867
- **Project number:** 2R01DA042211-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL A. TAFFE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $395,000
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10668867

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10668867, Dissecting the Abuse Liability of  Cathinone and Amphetamine Stimulants (2R01DA042211-06A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10668867. Licensed CC0.

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