Methylone (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone) is a synthetic cathinone analog of the recreational drug ecstasy. Although it is marketed to recreational users as relatively safe, fatalities due to hyperthermia, serotonin syndrome, and multi-organ system failure have been reported.
Since psychopharmacological data remain scarce, we have focused our research on pharmacokinetics, and on a detailed evaluation of temporal effects of methylone and its metabolite nor-methylone on behavior and body temperature in rats.