ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2023
Pharmacological effects of methylone and MDMA in humans.
Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of the Neuroplastogen TSND-201 for the Treatment of PTSD: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Safety and cognitive pharmacodynamics following dose escalations with 3-methylmethcathinone (3-MMC): a first in human, designer drug study.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Interpol review of forensic toxicology, 2023-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- Subjective and neurocognitive profiling of clinical doses of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in healthy volunteers: implications for therapeutic use.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- αMolecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Methylone promotes neurite outgrowth and has long-lasting effects on fear extinction learning.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Locomotor and discriminative stimulus effects of N-cyclohexyl butylone and N-cyclohexyl methylone.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Oral Fluid Concentrations and Pharmacological Effects of Clephedrone and Methylone in Humans.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Observational
- Acute Pharmacological Effects of Two Synthetic Cathinones in Humans: An Observational Study ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Clinical and Public Health Challenge of Handling Synthetic Cathinone and Cannabinoid Abuse in Pediatric Care: A Narrative Review.Pediatric reports · 2025Review
- Disposition and effects of alpha-pyrrolidinoisohexanophenone (α-PHiP) in comparison with cocaine: an observational study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Acute pharmacological effects of α-PVP in humans: a naturalistic observational study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics and entactogens.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Review
- Methylone is a rapid-acting neuroplastogen with less off-target activity than MDMA.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Trends in reported and biologically confirmed drug use among people who use ecstasy in the nightclub/festival-attending population, 2016-2022.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2023Article
- Sweat Testing for the Detection of Methylone after Controlled Administrations in Humans.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Usefulness of Oral Fluid for Measurement of Methylone and Its Metabolites: Correlation with Plasma Drug Concentrations and the Effect of Oral Fluid pH.Metabolites · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Methylone is one of the most common synthetic cathinones popularized as a substitute for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, midomafetamine) owing to its similar effects among users. Both psychostimulants exhibit similar chemistry (i.e., methylone is a β-keto analog of MDMA) and mechanisms of action. Currently, the pharmacology of methylone remains scarcely explored in humans. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the acute pharmacological effects of methylone and its abuse potential in humans when compared with that of MDMA following oral administration under controlled conditions. Seventeen participants of both sexes (14 males, 3 females) with a previous history of psychostimulant use completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial. Participants received a single oral dose of 200 mg of methylone, 100 mg of MDMA, and a placebo. The variables included physiological effects (blood pressure, heart rate, oral temperature, pupil diameter), subjective effects using visual analog scales (VAS), the short form of the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI), the Evaluation of Subjective Effects of Substances with Abuse Potential questionnaire (VESSPA-SSE), and the Sensitivity to Drug Reinforcement Questionnaire (SDRQ), and psychomotor performance (Maddox wing, psychomotor vigilance task). We observed that methylone could significantly increase blood pressure and heart rate and induce pleasurable effects, such as stimulation, euphoria, wellbeing, enhanced empathy, and altered perception. Methylone exhibited an effect profile similar to MDMA, with a faster overall onset and earlier disappearance of subjective effects. These results suggest that abuse potential of methylone is comparable to that of MDMA in humans.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.