Poster Presenter

Risperidone attenuates the rewarding effects of MDMA in mice
Aguilar M.A., Roger-Sánchez C., Rodríguez-Arias M., Miñarro J
Spain

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a widely used recreational drug whose abuse has become a major health issue for which there is no approved pharmacotherapy. Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug with combined dopamine-2/serotonin-2 antagonist activity, a pharmacological profile which may be of use in blocking the rewarding effects of MDMA mediated by the increase in dopamine and serotonin release. Moreover, in animal studies risperidone has proved to be effective in reducing the use of other psychostimulants. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of risperidone on the conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by MDMA in adolescent male mice. The ability of MDMA priming to induce reinstatement of a previously extinguished CPP was also assessed. Four conditioning sessions with MDMA (10 mg/kg) induced a CPP that was reinstated by MDMA priming (5 mg/kg). Risperidone (0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg) did not induce motivational effects in the CPP paradigm. The administration of MDMA plus the lower dose of risperidone induced CPP, but reinstatement was not observed after MDMA priming. The higher dose of risperidone blocked the CPP induced by MDMA. These results suggest that risperidone may be effective in the treatment of MDMA abuse.