Investigation of the effects of ‘piperazine-containing party pills’ and dexamphetamine on interhemispheric communication using electroencephalography

Background ‘Piperazine-containing party pills’ were marketed and sold as legal alternatives to methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) until 2008 in New Zealand. The major constituents of these ‘pills’ were benzylphenylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP)...

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Published in:Psychopharmacology 2016-08, Vol.233 (15-16), p.2869-2877
Main Authors: Lee, HeeSeung, Wang, Grace Y., Curley, Louise E., Kydd, Rob R., Kirk, Ian J., Russell, Bruce R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Dextroamphetamine
Dextroamphetamine - pharmacology
Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors - pharmacology
Double-Blind Method
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials, Visual - drug effects
Functional Laterality - drug effects
Humans
Information processing
Male
Neural Pathways - drug effects
Neurobiology
Neurosciences
Original Investigation
Pharmacological research
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Piperazine
Piperazines - pharmacology
Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Psychotropic drugs
Reaction Time - drug effects
Serotonin Receptor Agonists - pharmacology
Young Adult
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Summary:Background ‘Piperazine-containing party pills’ were marketed and sold as legal alternatives to methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) until 2008 in New Zealand. The major constituents of these ‘pills’ were benzylphenylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP). Despite their popularity, there is a paucity of knowledge about their central effects in humans. This study investigated their effects on human neural processing using electroencephalographic techniques. Methods A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of an acute dose of these compounds on the interhemispheric transfer of information (IHTT) using the Poffenberger task. Reaction time data were also collected. Healthy, right-handed males were given an oral dose of either BZP ( n  = 13) (200 mg), TFMPP ( n  = 15) (60 mg), a combination of BZP + TFMPP ( n  = 15) (100 mg/30 mg), dexamphetamine ( n  = 16) (20 mg), or placebo ( n  = 23) and tested both before and 120 min after drug administration. Results A mixed factorial repeated measures analysis of variance of absolute N160 latency and contrast analysis revealed that only TFMPP ( F (1,77)  = 17.30, p  ≤ 0.001) significantly reduced the absolute N160 latency. Analysis of the IHTT revealed that only TFMPP ( F (1,77)  = 5.266, p  ≤ 0.02) significantly reduced the IHTT, while BZP, BZP + TFMPP and dexamphetamine had no effect. Contrast analysis revealed that both TFMPP ( F (1,77)  = 17.30, p  ≤ 0.001) and placebo ( F (1,77)  = 15.08, p  ≤ 0.001) preserved the laterality of information transfer from one hemisphere to the other. Reaction time ( p  > 0.05) was not significantly affected by any of the drug treatments. Conclusions The usual directional asymmetry (i.e. faster R-to-L transfer relative to L-to-R) observed in healthy control group was absent following the administration of either BZP, BZP + TFMPP or dexamphetamine. Surprisingly, lateralised hemispheric function was not affected by TFMPP. Our findings highlight how the administration of BZP, TFMPP and BZP + TFMPP leads to changes in the pattern of information transfer.
ISSN:0033-3158
1432-2072
DOI:10.1007/s00213-016-4335-5