Effects of neuroleptic drugs, clonidine and lithium on the expression of conditioned behavioral excitation in rats

Abstract

Rats with a history of daily (21 days) amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg) treatment showed enhanced activity when under placebo in their amphetamine-associated environment. We found that this conditioned effect was reduced by haloperidol (0.06; 0.125; 0.25 mg/kg), pimozide (0.25; 0.5 mg/kg) and sulpiride (8; 16; 32 mg/kg) but only at doses similar to or, in the case of pimozide, higher than those required to antagonize the unconditioned stimulant effects of amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg). Conversely, we observed that clonidine (7; 15; 30; 60 μg/kg) or lithium regimen (between days 15 and 21) leading to lithium plasma levels of 1.3±0.1 mEq/1, abolished amphetamine-conditioned hyperactivity but did not affect the unconditioned stimulation of amphetamine or locomotor activity in control rats. Moreover, we found that hyperactivity induced by the daily anticipation of food delivery shared identical pharmacological sensitivity with the behavioural excitation produced by a conditioning history with amphetamine. In light of the antimanic properties of lithium and clonidine and the ability of this latter drug to reduce noradrenergic transmission, our findings raise the posibility that incentive activity may model noradrenergic-dependent aspects of mania.