There are six categories of psychoactive compounds which make up the family of research chemicals. A compound's placement into its respective category is determined by its molecular structure and receptor selectivity. Each category shares a structural relationship with one or more scheduled/controlled chemical relatives with only minor adjustments made to the original molecular structure in an attempt to achieve similar effects to that of the parent compound. Some of the commonly utilized structural modifications include benzene ring substitutions, replacing aryl groups with cyclical groups, and the addition or removal of a methyl group.
