Peripheral DA receptor blockade facilitates behavioural recovery from nigrostriatal damage.
Animals were injected via the intraperitoneal route with the peripheral dopamine receptor blocker domperidone for three days before receiving bilateral lesions of the lateral hypothalamus. Pretreatment with domperidone significantly facilitated recovery from lesion imposed deficits in consummatory behaviour and motor reflex control. The enhanced behavioural recovery achieved with domperidone pretreatment was similar to that which occurs with other dopamine receptor blockers but such recovery has been attributed to the central effects of these compounds. The results from this study demonstrate that recovery from catecholamine depleting lesions, attributed previously to the development of striatal receptor hypersensitivity, may also be due to changes in dopamine receptors outside the blood-brain barrier.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D004294:Domperidone / Q000633:toxicity*; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D007839:Functional Laterality; D007026:Hypothalamic Area, Lateral / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000502:physiology*
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D004294:Domperidone