Objective: The primary objective of the present study was to assess the potential psychostimulant effect of a single oral supratherapeutic dose of tianeptine (75 mg in 1 shot) in young healthy volunteers compared with methylphenidate (40 mg) and placebo.
Method: Eighteen healthy young male and female volunteers with no history of psychostimulant abuse completed this balanced, crossover, placebo-controlled study. Subjective and behavioral effects were assessed before treatment and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 hours after drug intake. Subjective effects of the drugs were recorded using self-questionnaire Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI 49). In addition, the Profile of Mood Scale, Visual Analog Scale, and attention/vigilance tests (choice reaction time and critical flicker fusion test) were used to evaluate mood state, subjective feeling, and sustained attention, respectively.
Results: Analysis on changes from baseline, from 1 to 8 hours, showed statistically significant differences between treatment groups for 2 of the 5 ARCI subscales: amphetamine and morphine benzedrine scales. A trend to significance was observed for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide scale. Indeed, although tianeptine did not significantly change any ARCI scores, methylphenidate significantly increased amphetamine and morphine benzedrine scores of the ARCI compared with placebo. No significant treatment effect was observed on the Profile of Mood Scale and the visual analog scale. Analyses of attention and vigilance tests showed a psychostimulant effect for methylphenidate on choice reaction time (decrease of recognition time) and critical flicker fusion test (higher frequency).
Conclusions: A single administration of a supratherapeutic dose of tianeptine does not induce psychostimulant effect in young healthy volunteers in contrast to methylphenidate at a therapeutic dose. These findings suggest an absence of psychostimulant liability of tianeptine in a therapeutic situation.