1-(Aminomethyl)-6,7-dihydroxytetralin derivatives: synthesis and assessment of dopamine-like effects.

The title compounds were designed as flexible congeners of trans-octahydrobenz[h]isoquinoline, in which the dopamine moiety can exist in the alpha conformation. Extremely low dopamine-like effects in the title series in the cat cardioaccelerator nerve assay paralleled low activity in the trans-octahydrobenz[h]isoquinoline compounds and was consistent with a prior proposal of the presence of a bulky region on the dopamine receptor(s).