Effect of long-term dosing with tiapride on brain dopamine receptors and metabolism in rats. Comparative study with sulpiride and haloperidol

Opposing effects of dopamine antagonism in a motor sequence task-tiapride increases cortical excitability and impairs motor learning

The dopaminergic system is involved in learning and participates in the modulation of cortical excitability (CE). CE has been suggested as a marker of learning and use-dependent plasticity. However, results from separate studies on either motor CE or motor learning challenge this notion, suggesting opposing effects of dopaminergic modulation upon these parameters: while agonists decrease and antagonists increase CE, motor learning is enhanced by agonists and disturbed by antagonists. To examine whether this discrepancy persists when complex motor learning and motor CE are measured in the same experimental setup, we investigated the effects of dopaminergic (DA) antagonism upon both parameters and upon task-associated brain activation. Our results demonstrate that DA-antagonism has opposing effects upon motor CE and motor sequence learning. Tiapride did not alter baseline CE, but increased CE post training of a complex motor sequence while simultaneously impairing motor learning. Moreover, tiapride reduced activation in several brain regions associated with motor sequence performance, i.e., dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), supplementary motor area (SMA), Broca's area, cingulate and caudate body. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) intensity in anterior cingulate and caudate body, but not CE, correlated with performance across groups. In summary, our results do not support a concept of CE as a general marker of motor learning, since they demonstrate that a straightforward relation of increased CE and higher learning success does not apply to all instances of motor learning. At least for complex motor tasks that recruit a network of brain regions outside motor cortex, CE in primary motor cortex is probably no central determinant for learning success.

Comparative studies of sulpiride and classical neuroleptics on induction of catalepsy, locomotor activity, and brain dopamine metabolism in mice

The effects of the peripheral administration of sulpiride on the induction of catalepsy, the vertical (VMA) and horizontal (HMA) locomotor activities, and on the dopamine metabolism in the limbic system, striatum, and nucleus accumbens were examined using mice up to 7.5 h after administration of drugs. These effects were compared to those of pimozide and haloperidol. Sulpiride (1.25-160 mg/kg, IP) clearly induced catalepsy similar to pimozide (0.0625-4 mg/kg, IP) and haloperidol (0.0375-0.3 mg/kg, IP). During the induction of catalepsy, the intensity was the strongest at 4.5 h after administration and the ED50 value showed 11.5 mg/kg at that time. However, a moderate dose of sulpiride at 10-20 mg/kg did not show the induction of a dose- and time-dependent catalepsy. During the locomotor activity, the VMA was significantly inhibited at 1.5 h and 6 h after administration of pimozide (0.25 mg/kg, IP) and haloperidol (0.075 mg/kg, IP) as compared to the control group, while the HMA was significantly inhibited at 1.5 h after administration of sulpiride (40 mg/kg, IP) and pimozide (0.25 mg/kg, IP). Subsequently, in the dopamine metabolism, sulpiride, pimozide, and haloperidol: 1) considerably accelerated the turnover in the dopamine metabolism in three distinct brain areas; 2) increased the levels of the DOPAC, HVA, and 3-MT even 6 h after administration, as well as at 1.5 h after administration; and 3) decreased the levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens at 1.5 h after administration. These results indicate that sulpiride displays a mode of action different from pimozide and haloperidol with regard to the induction of catalepsy, but not with regard to the locomotion and brain dopamine metabolism.

Autoradiographic analysis of regional alterations in brain receptors following chronic administration and withdrawal of typical and atypical neuroleptics in rats

Rats were administered haloperidol, clozapine, raclopride, or no drug for 28 days or 8 months. Following a 3 week withdrawal period, in vitro autoradiography was utilized to examine receptor binding for dopamine D2 ([3H]spiperone and [3H]raclopride), dopamine D 1 ([3H]SCH23390), GABA(A) ([3H]muscimol), benzodiazepine ([3H]RO15-1788), and muscarinic ACh receptors ([3H]QNB). [3H]spiperone was elevated in striatal subregions only in haloperidol-treated rats, with the largest increases seen in the 8 month duration animals. Striatal [3H]raclopride binding was increased after both short- and long-term treatment in both haloperidol and raclopride, but not clozapine-treated animals. Clozapine-treated rats showed significant increases in [3H]SCH23390 in the nucleus accumbens after 28-day administration; otherwise no changes were seen for this ligand in any other groups. Increases in [3H]muscimol binding in the substantia nigra reticulata were seen in haloperidol-treated rats after 8 month treatment. Binding of [3H]QNB and [3H]RO151788 were not significantly different from control for any of the drug-treated groups. These data suggest that persisting alterations in receptor binding are primarily seen in dopamine D2 and GABA receptors after withdrawal from chronic administration of haloperidol but not the atypical neuroleptics, clozapine and raclopride.

Chronic haloperidol treatment with low doses may enhance the increase of homovanillic acid in rat brain

Homovanillic acid (HVA) levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection in the striatum and prefrontal cortex of rats that had received single or repeated injections of various doses of haloperidol. Haloperidol increased the HVA concentrations in both brain regions after both acute and chronic treatment with doses of 0.01-1 mg/kg. The increase in the HVA concentrations in the striatum was blunted after repeated haloperidol injections with doses of 0.5-1 mg/kg, suggesting that haloperidol pretreatment results in a decreased responsiveness to the drug at high doses (tolerance). Tolerance also developed to the effect of long-term haloperidol treatment on the HVA concentrations in the prefrontal cortex at the highest dose used (1 mg/kg). This suggests that the differences in the development of tolerance between the striatum and prefrontal cortex are not qualitative but quantitative. However, repeated haloperidol injections at doses of 0.01-0.05 mg/kg enhanced the increase in HVA concentrations. This suggests that tolerance does not develop after chronic haloperidol treatment with low doses. Decreased HVA concentrations were also found after withdrawal from chronic haloperidol treatment (rebound decrease). However, this rebound decrease was much smaller than the decrease in response of the HVA concentrations to repeated haloperidol injections, suggesting that different mechanisms are involved.

Functional supersensitivity of the hippocampal dopaminergic system after prolonged treatment with haloperidol

The effect of acute and prolonged (21 days) treatment with haloperidol (1 or 5 mg/kg SC) on the dopamine-, apomorphine- and LY 171555-induced changes in the firing rate of CA1 layer neurons was studied in a hippocampal slice preparation. Dopamine and apomorphine administration evoked either an excitatory or inhibitory reaction, while the selective D2 receptor agonist LY 171555 increased the firing rate of hippocampal neurons. The excitatory effects of dopamine and LY 171555 were blocked by sulpiride and haloperidol. Prolonged administration of haloperidol potentiated the excitatory reaction of dopamine and apomorphine; however, even a single dose of the neuroleptic enhanced the dopamine-induced effect. The reaction evoked by LY 171555 was not significantly affected by either acute or chronic treatment with haloperidol. The present findings indicate that long-term administration of haloperidol results in an increased sensitivity of hippocampal neurons to the mixed dopamine agonists, dopamine and apomorphine, but not to selective stimulation of the D2 receptor.