The influence of chronic activation and blockade of the dopamine- and enkephalinergic systems of the neostriatum on conditioned reflex behavior and dopamine metabolism in the rat nigrostriatal system.

The effects of daily injections, over the course of 14 days, of 45 micrograms of phenamine, 5 micrograms of haloperidol and naloxone, 15 micrograms of leu-enkephalin and its analog, a tetrapeptide, into the rostral neostriatum have been studied. The chronic stimulation of the dopaminergic system of the striatum induced facilitation of the realization of an active avoidance conditioned reflex, and stimulated exploratory stereotypy, while its blockade led to suppression of conditioned reflex activity against the background of a clearcut rigid akinetic syndrome. The microinjections of leu-enkephalin and naloxone did not substantially alter the behavior, but the injection of the tetrapeptide was accompanied by changes in behavior, with symptoms of catalepsy and hyperkinesia. Injections of phenamine and haloperidol were accompanied by a decrease in the content of dopamine in the striatum and an increase in the level of DOPAC; the injections of enkephalin and naloxone induced changes of the reverse order. The possible causes of the noncorrespondence of the behavioral and neurochemical shifts in the presence of a direct chronic pharmacological action on the mediator of the neostriatum.