Unilateral striatal dopamine denervation: Reduced motor inhibitory effects of dopamine antagonists revealed in models of asymmetric and circling behaviour

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Abstract
Circling and asymmetric behaviours to apomorphine (dopamine agonist/antagonist) challenge were studied in rats with unilateral striatal electrolesions or 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions, each induced by combined lesions at 3 striatal locations, to allow an assessment of drug action on ‘normal’ receptors in the intact striatum or ‘supersensitive’ receptors in the lesioned striatum respectively. The minimally effective dose of 6-OHDA (given in the presence of DMI and tranylcypromine) to cause functional change was 3×8 μg, with 3×32 μg providing maximal change. Electrolesions were shown histologically to be confined to striatal tissue, and dopamine depletions caused by 6-OHDA were selective for the striatum. Temporal differences were recorded for onset of asymmetry and circling behaviour, both between behaviours and between lesions. Thus, asymmetry developed during the 2nd–4th days after 6-OHDA lesion but circling developed more abruptly on postoperative days 10–12. In contrast, both asymmetry and circling behaviours were apparent from the first day following electrolesion. The dose-dependent effects of apomorphine were apparent at much lower doses in 6-OHDA lesioned than electrolesioned rats. This potency difference was also demonstrated for two further dopamine agonists, 2-di-n-propylamino-5,6-dihydroxytetralin and SK & F 38393. In contrast, the agonist-induced asymmetric and circling behaviours of electrolesioned rats were some 9–44 times more sensitive than those of 6-OHDA lesioned rats to antagonism by the neuroleptic agents haloperidol, α-flupenthixol and oxiperomide, although tiapride antagonism was very similar in both the electrolesioned and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Thus, selective striatal denervation techniques are used to show that asymmetric and circling behaviours can be differentially induced and manipulated, and that the increased sensitivity (over electrolesions) of 6-OHDA lesioned rats to dopamine agonist action to induce these behavioural effects is associated with a reduced sensitivity to neuroleptic activity to reduce the asymmetric and circling responses.