1. ¹Department of Psychiatry, Division on Substance Abuse, New York State Psychiatric Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
2. ²Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence: Dr CL Hart, Department of Psychiatry, Division on Substance Abuse, New York State Psychiatric Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 120, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel: +1 212 543 5884; Fax: +1 212 543 5991; E-mail: clh42@columbia.edu

Received 27 July 2007; Revised 14 August 2007; Accepted 15 August 2007; Published online 12 September 2007.

Abstract

Intranasal methamphetamine abuse has increased dramatically in the past decade, yet only one published study has investigated its acute effects under controlled laboratory conditions. Thus, the current study examined the effects of single-dose intranasal methamphetamine administration on a broad range of behavioral and physiological measures. Eleven nontreatment-seeking methamphetamine abusers (two females, nine males) completed this four-session, in-patient, within-participant, double-blind study. During each session, one of four intranasal methamphetamine doses (0, 12, 25, and 50 mg/70 kg) was administered and methamphetamine plasma concentrations, cardiovascular, subjective, and psychomotor/cognitive performance effects were assessed before drug administration and repeatedly thereafter. Following drug administration, methamphetamine plasma concentrations systematically increased for 4 h postdrug administration then declined. Methamphetamine dose dependently increased cardiovascular measures and 'positive' subjective effects, with peaks occurring approximately 5–15 min after drug administration, when plasma levels were still ascending. In addition, cognitive performance on less complicated tasks was improved by all active methamphetamine doses, whereas performance on more complicated tasks was improved only by the intermediate doses (12 and 25 mg). These results show that intranasal methamphetamine produced predictable effects on multiple behavioral and physiological measures before peak plasma levels were observed. Of interest is the dissociation between methamphetamine plasma concentrations with cardiovascular measures and positive subjective effects, which might have important implications for potential toxicity after repeated doses.