The amphetamine-like releasing effect of the alkaloid (-)cathinone on rat nucleus accumbens and rabbit caudate nucleus.

1. (-)Cathinone, a new alkaloid from khat leaves, has recently been reported to have amphetamine-like behavioral effects. In order to investigate the effects of this compound on the cellular level, slices of rat nucleus accumbens, prelabelled with 3H-dopamine, were superfused with solutions of (-)cathinone. 2. It was found that (-)cathinone, as (+)amphetamine, enhanced the release of radioactivity from rat nucleus accumbens tissue. 3. In similar experiments on rabbit caudate nucleus it was observed that the catecholamine reuptake inhibitors benztropine, nomifensine and mazindol were able to block the (-)cathinone-induced release, indicating that the alkaloid has to penetrate to intraneuronal sites in order to evoke release. 4. It is concluded that the pharmacological similarity between (-)cathinone and (+)amphetamine extends to the cellular level and that the behavioral effects of (-)cathinone are due to stimulation of release from central catecholamine storage sites.