Production of a Parkinson-like syndrome in the cat with N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP): behavior, histology, and biochemistry.

N-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a potent dopaminergic neurotoxin, was administered to cats systemically for 5 to 7 days. This treatment produced a behavioral syndrome characterized by akinesia, ataxia, bradykinesia, and feeding difficulties, lasting for several weeks. During this period of severe behavioral impairment, caudate and nucleus accumbens dopamine and norepinephrine concentrations were quite depleted. Behavioral recovery ensued over the next several weeks as did some recovery of striatal catecholamines. MPTP destroyed the majority of substantia nigra pars compacta neurons while affecting a much lesser number of locus ceruleus and ventral tegmental neurons. These results demonstrated for the first time that MPTP can cause long-lasting deficits in nigrostriatal functioning in the cat and may provide a means for studying the apparently selective neurotoxic effects of MPTP as well as for understanding the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.