Role of the basal ganglia in a chemically induced dyskinesia in rat.

A complex syndrome consisting of locomotor hyperactivity and a cervical choreoathetoid dyskinesia was produced in rats after 7 to 10 days administration of 3-3 -iminodipropionitrile. Attenuation of motor abnormalities after lesions of the basal ganglia (BG) but not cortical lesions suggests the importance of descending BG influences in this syndrome. Responses of this syndrome to pharmacologic manipulations further argues for BG involvement. This syndrome may be a possible animal model of human hyperkinetic basal ganglia disorders.