Dopaminergic nature of feeding-induced behavioral stereotypies in stressed pigeons.

Dopamine dependence of feeding-induced behavioral stereotypies (FIBS) was demonstrated by FIBS facilitation following chronic treatment with a dopamine (DA) agonist, apomorphine, and by FIBS inhibition following the administration of haloperidol, a DA antagonist. However, individuals that emitted FIBS were differentiated from those not emitting FIBS not by assayed telencephalic DA concentrations alone but by a higher stereotyping index (SI), a score positively related to the ratio of telencephalic DA-norepinephrine (NE) concentrations. These latter findings support the hypothesis of Antelman and Caggiula [3] which indicates that a catecholamine interaction in the brain serves to facilitate or inhibit some behavioral actions associated with stress.