MAPS: Hallucinogen activity at 5HT-2C receptors

[Harry Sumnall <spun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Forum,

Sorry for posting yet another question but I'm hoping that 
one of the many learned pharmacologist out there can help 
me  with a query that's preoccupying me at the moment: 

Does anyone know of any pharmacological agents that act 
**primarily** at 5HT-2C receptors to produce hallucinations 
( whatever the definition of that word is)? I'm asking 
because I've just finished a series of drug discrimination 
expts. investigating potential hallucinatory activity of 
certain novel serotonergically active compounds. 
Unsurprisingly, agents acting at 5HT-2A receptors fully 
generalised to the LSD cue but I've now seen partial 
generalisation in compounds that are deemed to have much 
greater specificity for 5HT-2C receptors. In a follow up 
expt. I also found that mCPP (also acts at 5HT2C), a drug 
supposedly without hallucinatory activity in humans 
produced the same result suggesting that there may be 
something  about the subjective effects of these drugs that 
is LSD-like.

I've thought long and hard about this and discussed it with 
other people but have so far failed to reach a consensus 
about whether what i am picking up 'hallucinogen-like' 
activity in these 5HT-2C specific agents. Has, to anyone's 
knowledge, any work been done that clarifies the 
psychopharmacological results of  5HT-receptor subtype 
activation, i.e am i picking up hallucinatory activity or 
something else such as an anxiogenic component of the LSD 
cue that is mediated by 5HT-2C receptors?

Many thanks in advance

A very confused

Harry Sumnall 

Research Student
Department of Psychology
Eleanor Rathbone Building
University of Liverpool
Liverpool
L69 7ZA
UK
Tel:+44 151 794 2963

Home tel:
+44 151 727 5269
spun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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