Contralateral Circling Behaviour Induced by Intranigral Injection of Taurine in Rats

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Abstract
The effect of unilateral injection of taurine into the substantia nigra on the behavior of rats was studied. Taurine (10-200 .mu.g) induced a dose-dependent contralateral circling behavior. The maximum intensity of circling after doses of 100-200 .mu.g of taurine was reached within 10 min and the circling lasted for about 4-5 h. Ipsilateral circling or stereotyped behavior was not seen. Intranigral injection of isethionic acid, a metabolite of taurine, induced weak ipsilateral circling of short duration. Pretreatment with bicuculline (3 mg/kg i.p.) or strychnine (0.25 mg/kg i.p.) significantly inhibited the taurine-induced circling. A dose of 1 mg/kg but not of 0.5 mg/kg haloperidol (s.c.) significantly decreased the intensity of the taurine-induced circling. Pretreatment with atropine (10 mg/kg i.p.) had no significant effect on the circling behavior. Besides the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway, the nondopaminergic nigral output pathways seem to be involved in the taurine-induced circling behavior. Taurine may function in the substantia nigra.