2-Methyltryptamine

2-Methyltryptamine (2-MT, 2-Me-T, or 2-methyl-T) is a serotonin receptor agonist of the tryptamine family. It shows dramatically reduced activity at serotonin receptors compared to tryptamine and mixed effects in terms of psychedelic-like effects in animals.

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

2-MT shows affinity (Ki) for the serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors, with Ki values of 1,095 nM and 7,774 nM, respectively. These affinities were respectively 34-fold and 3.2-fold lower than those of tryptamine in the same study. It also acts as an agonist of the serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors, with EC50Tooltip half-maximal effective concentration values of 12,534 nM and 4,598 nM, respectively. These activational potencies were respectively 14-fold and 19-fold lower than those of tryptamine in the same study.

It does not produce conditioned place preference (CPP), self-administration, or changes in locomotor activity in rodents. Findings on whether 2-MT produces the head-twitch response (HTR), a behavioral proxy of psychedelic effects, are mixed. In one study, it produced the HTR at a dose of 3 mg/kg intraperitoneally, and this was completely blocked by the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin. In another study, both tryptamine and 2-MT did not produce the HTR at a dose of 3 mg/kg intraperitoneally.