Drug preference and mood in humans: d-amphetamine

Area of Science:

• Psychopharmacology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Understanding the relationship between subjective drug effects and user choice is vital for predicting abuse potential.
• Dextroamphetamine (d-amphetamine) is a psychostimulant with known mood-altering properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether subjective mood changes induced by d-amphetamine predict an individual's choice to self-administer the drug.
• To explore the utility of mood assessments in predicting the abuse liability of psychotropic substances.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 31 healthy human volunteers over nine sessions.
• Alternating administration of 5 mg d-amphetamine or placebo, followed by a period of choice between the two.
• Mood assessment using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) at multiple time points post-ingestion.

Main Results:

• D-amphetamine significantly increased positive mood states (Vigor, Elation, Friendliness, Arousal, Positive Mood) and decreased Confusion compared to placebo.
• These mood alterations were most pronounced 3 hours after drug ingestion.
• Crucially, the extent of mood change did not correlate with the frequency of amphetamine choice, indicating subjective effects do not predict drug preference.

Conclusions:

• Subjective mood experiences do not reliably predict self-administration choices for d-amphetamine.
• This dissociation highlights the complexity of predicting drug abuse potential based solely on immediate subjective responses.
• Further research is needed to develop more accurate methods for assessing the abuse liability of psychoactive drugs.