• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1995

The effects of chronic treatment with haloperidol and sulpiride on the binding capacities of dopamine(DA) receptor were examined in rat striatum and olfactory tubercle. Additionally, the stereotypy scores were assessed after apomorphine administration. Rats were treated with haloperidol(0.5mg/kg/day) or sulpiride(40mg/kg/day) for four weeks. Apomorphine(0.5mg/kg) was injected after three-day washout from neuroleptics, and stereotypy scores were assessed. Haloperidol group showed high scores of stereotyped behavior in comparison with control and sulpiride groups. With control group, sulpiride group displayed similar stereotyped behaviors. Saturation analysis of the binding of [$^3H$]spiperone to striatal membranes showed that the Bmax of haloperidol and sulpiride groups increased significantly in comparison with that of control group. The $K_D$ decreased significantly after sulpiride treatment in striatum. Although sulpiride produces the same proliferation of DA receptor, the low stereotypy scores of sulpiride group indirectly suggest that sulpiride acts differently from haloperidol in brain DA system. The Bmax increased remarkably following both treatment with haloperidol and sulpiride in olfactory tubercle. Also, the increase in $K_D$ was significant after treatment with haloperidol and sulpiride in olfactory tubercle. Moreover, the $K_D$ of control group in olfactory tubercle was more than twice the $K_D$ of control group in striatum. The $K_D$ was 86.2 in striatum and 37.5 pM in olfactory tubercle. The present finding indicates that sulpiride also induces the proliferation of DA receptor in olfactory tubercle and may interact with some DA receptor subtype with high affinity profile. The different affinities of the control groups of striatum and olfactory tubercle suggest that striatal DA receptor subtypes labeled by [$^3H$]spiperone could differ from those of olfactory tubercle.