title: Normalization by antipsychotic drugs of biochemically induced abnormal behavior in rats.
abstract: Male rats were trained to perform a conditioned avoidance response combined with a successive discrimination in a modified shuttle box. The administration of L-Dopa, 100 mg/kg i.p., after inhibition of peripheral aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, or apomorphine, 2 mg/kg i.p., was found to disrupt the discriminative but not the avoidance behavior. The dopamine receptor antagonist pimozide (0.5 mg/kg i.p.), but not the noradrenaline receptor antagonist phenoxybenzamine (10 or 20 mg/kg i.p.) completely antagonized the L-Dopa-induced abnormal behavior, indicating sn involvement of central dopamine mechanisms. The present data show that antipsychotic drugs not only inhibit behavior but can also improve behavior in animals with a disturbed function.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D007980:Levodopa / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D010643:Phenoxybenzamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010868:Pimozide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D010643:Phenoxybenzamine; D010868:Pimozide; D007980:Levodopa; D001058:Apomorphine; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine