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 inhal ...

developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at

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 ...

. It acts as a non- neurotoxic and highly selective serotonin releasing agent (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 online since 2010. MMAI has been shown to relieve stress-induced depression in rats more robustly than sertraline, 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 ...

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 extracellul ...

s (SSRIs).

References

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