# Dissecting the Abuse Liability of Synthetic Cathinone Stimulants

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $354,375

## Abstract

The use of synthetic psychoactive cathinone drugs (“bathsalts”) continues to expand worldwide
and in the United States of America despite legal control efforts internationally, at the US federal
level, within multiple US states and even the local US jurisdictions. The 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 3,4-
methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a highly potent and efficacious reinforcer, predicting abuse
liability equal to or greater than that of cocaine and methamphetamine. Compounds such as
Mephedrone and Methylone produce subjective properties that are similar to 3,4-
methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) but have exhibit much greater propensity for compulsive
use in human report and rodent self-administration studies. This project responds to the goals of
PAR-14-106 Synthetic Psychoactive Drugs and Strategic Approaches to Counteract Their Deleterious
Effects by determining structural determinants of the addiction liability of synthetic cathinones.
Tremendous diversity of cathinone structure exists in the recreational market, driven in part by legal
control of earlier-appearing drugs. This reality demands approaches which can both advance
understanding of the actions of currently popular drugs and generate better predictions regarding
which design motifs may convey increased abuse liability in emerging compounds. To that end,
studies under Aim I and Aim II will elucidate the contributions of the 3,4-methylenedioxy and 4-
methyl aromatic ring substitutions, respectively, to the reinforcement potency and efficacy of
cathinones. One distinct feature of MDPV is an extended carbon chain which confers enhanced
lipophilicity. The goal of Aim III is to determine if stimulant drug efficacy in intravenous self-
administration is affected by lipophilicity, which affects speed of brain entry. In total, these proposed
studies on the reinforcing effects of various synthetic cathinones will advance our understanding of
the health risks associated with designer stimulant drugs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9990750
- **Project number:** 5R01DA042211-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL A. TAFFE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $354,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-18 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9990750

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9990750, Dissecting the Abuse Liability of Synthetic Cathinone Stimulants (5R01DA042211-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9990750. Licensed CC0.

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