One aspect of the present invention relates to heterocyclic compounds. A
second aspect of the present invention relates to the use of the
heterocyclic compounds as ligands for various mammalian cellular
receptors, including dopamine, serotonin, or norepinephrine transporters.
The compounds of the present invention will find use in the treatment of
numerous ailments, conditions and diseases which afflict mammals,
including but not limited to addiction, anxiety, depression, sexual
dysfunction, hypertension, migraine, Alzheimer's disease, obesity,
emesis, psychosis, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, inflammatory pain,
neuropathic pain, Lesche-Nyhane disease, Wilson's disease, and Tourette's
syndrome. An additional aspect of the present invention relates to the
synthesis of combinatorial libraries of the heterocyclic compounds, and
the screening of those libraries for biological activity, e.g., in assays
based on dopamine transporters.