Locomotor Responses and Neuron Excitability in Conditions of Haloperidol Blockade of Dopamine in Invertebrates and Vertebrates

Abstract

Levels of movement activity were used to identify two groups of rats: those with high- and low-activity levels. Blockade of dopamine receptors with haloperidol led to suppression of locomotor activity in both groups of rats; in common snails, haloperidol decreased the rate of locomotion. The excitability of spinal centers in rats decreased 5 min after single i.v. injections, with gradual recovery seen by 30 min. Chronic administration of haloperidol suppressed post-tetanic potentiation of the H response in the gastrocnemius muscle of spinal rats. Prolonged use of haloperidol induced significant hyperpolarization of the membrane potential of command neurons in common snails and increased the action potential generation threshold. Selective pharmacological exclusion of the brain dopamine system was found to lead to decreases in the excitability of defined neurons in snails and the spinal motor centers in rats, also producing impairments in locomotor responses in these animals.

The impact of antipsychotic drugs on food intake and body weight and on leptin levels in blood and hypothalamic ob-r leptin receptor expression in wistar rats

“…Antagonistic blockade of dopamine D2 receptors using haloperidol led to a suppression of locomotor activity in rats by decreasing the excitability of the spinal motor centers 45. The study of Huang et al46 found that locomotion and appetitive behavior are differently sensitive to haloperidol, which allows the suggestion that separable D2 mechanisms are involved in regulating the feeding behavior.…”

Rho kinase inhibitors ameliorate acute methamphetamine-induced cognitive impairment through the cortico-striatal circuit in mice

“…This may explain why haloperidol and clozapine decreased METH-induced MYPT1 hyperphosphorylation in the DMS. Dopamine D2 receptor antagonists suppressed locomotor activity in rodents by decreasing the excitability of spinal motor centers (Zvezdochkina et al, 2006). Furthermore, clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic with complex pharmacology, including upregulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor binding (Giardino et al, 1997;Ossowska, Pietraszek, Wardas, Nowak & Wolfarth, 1999;Pilowsky et al, 2006) and direct induction of NMDA receptor activity (Javitt, 2004).…”