| Abstract: | Notes that extensive damage to central dopamine (DA)-containing neurons produces akinesia and sensory neglect when the lesions are made in adult rats. Similar behavioral impairments occur when dopaminergic function is disrupted temporarily by DA receptor blocking agents, and brain-damaged rats are particularly sensitive to the effects of those drugs. The present 2 experiments, with 67 male Sprague-Dawley rat pups, are thought to offer a contrast to these accepted findings that central DA-containing neurons are critical to the initiation of voluntary movement. After near-total destruction of the dopaminergic neurons in 3-day-old rats, there were no conspicuous behavioral dysfunctions at any time during the subsequent 5–8 mo, even when Ss received large intraperitoneal doses of the DA receptor blocking agents haloperidol (.2–2.0 mg/kg) and fluphenazine HCl (1 mg/kg). Findings suggest that some other neuronal system had replaced the absent dopaminergic neurons in the central control of movement. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
