Grooming and vacuous chewing induced by SK&F 83959, an agonist of dopamine 'D1-like' receptors that inhibits dopamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase.

The benzazepine SK&F 83959 demonstrates high affinity for dopamine D1 receptors and potently inhibits the stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by dopamine. This compound induced the same intense grooming behaviour identified previously as a characteristic response to typical dopamine D1 receptor agonists such as SK&F 77434 that stimulate adenylyl cyclase; it also induced vacuous chewing. These findings constitute direct evidence for a behaviourally relevant subtype of 'D1-like' receptor that is not linked to adenylyl cyclase.