l-Methamphetamine has been occasionally referred to as a stimulant similar to d-methamphetamine, probably owing to insufficient comparative studies. Here, we directly compared psychomotor efficacies and pharmacokinetics of methamphetamine enantiomers in mice. Only d-methamphetamine, but not l-methamphetamine, induced stereotypy and sensitization at 1-10 mg/kg. However, plasma pharmacokinetic parameters of 10 mg/kg l-methamphetamine were ≥tenfold those of 1 mg/kg d-methamphetamine. These results clearly indicate that differential psychomotor efficacies of methamphetamine enantiomers are independent of their pharmacokinetic profiles.
Keywords: Enantiomer; Methamphetamine; Pharmacokinetics; Psychomotor.