Fluoroethylnormemantine hydrochloride, a Memantine derivative, functions as an antagonist for the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. It can also serve as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, specifically as [18F]-Fluoroethylnormemantine hydrochloride. Notably, this compound displays a range of effects, including anti-amnesic, neuroprotective, antidepressant-like, and fear-attenuating properties.

Fluoroethylnormemantine, administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at dosages ranging from 0.1 to 10 mg/kg, exhibits anti-amnesic properties by mitigating Aβ 25-35-induced learning impairments in mice. Notably, a single i.p. dose in this range shows immediate effects, while a regimen of one dose daily for seven days effectively counters Aβ 25-35-induced behavioral deficits, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and cell loss. Furthermore, at dosages between 1-20 mg/kg, fluoroethylnormemantine reduces behavioral despair in the forced swim test (FST) and fear behaviors in both the cued fear conditioning (FC) and extinction training in rats. In a specific study involving male Swiss CD-1 mice aged 7-9 weeks and injected with Aβ 25-35, varying dosages of fluoroethylnormemantine (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10 mg/kg) administered 30 minutes before behavioral assessments significantly improved spontaneous alternation deficit, passive avoidance deficit, and novel object exploration deficit, showcasing its therapeutic potential in addressing neurodegenerative and psychological disorders.