L-Stepholidine Inhibits Methamphetamine Intravenous Self-administration Behavior in Rodents

Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful psycho stimulant.Chronic obsessive and compulsive usage of METH caused great harm to human health (physical and psychological) and social stability issues all over the world.Currently, no drugs have been used to treat and prevent METH addiction.L-Stepholidine (L-SPD) is a partial agonist of dopamine D1 receptor, meanwhile an inhibitor of dopamine D2 receptor.The unique neuropharmacological effects of L-SPD indicates that it might a agent which worthy of research and development targeting chronic and compulsive METH usage.In this research, rats were trained to establish stable intravenous self-administration (IVSA) behavior.Subsequently, the effects of different doses of L-SPD on METH IVSA under progressiveratio (PR) paradigm were tested.The behavior data shows that L-SPD (20 mg/kg, i.p.) attenuated METH IVSA behavior.This experimental data illustrates that L-SPD might be considered as a candidate chemical compound to treat chronic and compulsive METH usage.