Monoamine oxidase inhibitors: potential for drug abuse

Both the amphetamines and MAO inhibitors share common clinical and pharmacological properties, namely, (i) to clinically induce euphoriant-stimulating type and psychotomimetic effects in certain individuals, and (ii) to increase, albeit by different mechanisms, the amount of functionally available neurotransmitter (catecholamines and indoleamines) at the receptor site. The present data now indicate that, like the amphetamines, the use of MAO inhibitors can be clinically associated with dependence-tolerance. Perhaps these clinical findings will converge with other clinical-biochemical data in helping to define the specific amine(s) responsible for not only the clinical effects of these drugs but also the etiopathogenesis of major psychiatric illnesses such as the affective disorders and schizophrenia.