5-Methoxy-6-methyl-2-aminoindane (MMAI) is a

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

developed in the 1990s by a team led by

David E. Nichols David Earl Nichols (born December 23, 1944, Covington, Kentucky) is an Americans, American pharmacologist and medicinal chemist. Previously the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology at Purdue University, Nichol ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. It acts as a non-

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...

and highly selective

serotonin releasing agent A serotonin releasing agent (SRA) is a type of drug that induces the release of serotonin into the neuronal synaptic cleft. A selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) is an SRA with less significant or no efficacy in producing neurotransmitter e ...

(SSRA) and produces entactogen effects in humans. It has been sold as a

designer drug A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. Des ...

and

research chemical Research chemicals are chemical substances used by scientists for medical and scientific research purposes. One characteristic of a research chemical is that it is for laboratory research use only; a research chemical is not intended for human o ...

online since 2010. MMAI has been shown to relieve stress-induced depression in rats more robustly than

sertraline Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differe ...

, and as a result it has been suggested that SSRAs like MMAI and 4-MTA could be developed as novel

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...

s with a faster onset of therapeutic action and superior efficacy to current antidepressants such as the

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs increase the extracell ...

s (SSRIs).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Methoxy-6-methyl-2-aminoindane, 5- 2-Aminoindanes Entactogens and empathogens Designer drugs Phenol ethers Serotonin releasing agents