Abstract
Maternal pup searching behaviour of lactating house mice treated with apomorphine, haloperidol or saline was examined on a running board with a central depression as a nest. Pup searching was elicited by artificial ultrasonic stimuli: a female moved out from the nest either towards a 50 kHz tone (key stimulus) which is adequate to activate species specific pup searching behaviour or towards a 20 kHz tone (neutral stimulus), thus showing her preference for one of these stimuli. Under apomorphine (0.00625; 0.0125; 0.025 mg/kg) the females preferred the key stimulus. Nevertheless apomorphine (0.00625–0.025 mg/kg) prolonged response latencies and shortened the duration of pup searching. At the highest dose (0.05 mg/kg), apomorphine induced stereotyped sniffing. Haloperidol (0.025; 0.05; 0.1 mg/kg) had opposite effects to apomorphine: it lowered the threshold for elicitation, shortened response latencies and prolonged the duration of pup searching. Females treated with haloperidol (0.025–0.1 mg/kg) did not prefer the key stimulus. Changes in response elicitation and in the performance of pup searching induced by apomorphine and haloperidol, respectively, were assumed to be due to i) a reduced and an increased responsiveness to external stimuli respectively, ii) an enhanced and a reduced tendency for response switching respectively, and iii) a preference for spontaneous behaviour in apomorphine-treated females, with an increased dependence on exteroceptive stimuli following haloperidol.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cools AR (1980) Role of the neostriatal dopaminergic activity in sequencing and selecting behavioural strategies: facilitation of processes involved in selecting the best strategy in a stressful situation. Behav Brain Res 1:361–378
Ehret G (1974) Age-dependent hearing loss in normal hearing mice. Naturwissenschaften 61:506
Ehret G, Haack B (1982) Ultrasound recognition in house mice: key-stimulus configuration and recognition mechanism. J Comp Physiol 148:245–251
Ehret G, Haack B (1984) Motivation and arousal influence sound-induced maternal pup retrieving behavior in lactating house mice. Z Tierpsychol 65:25–39
Ehret G, Koch M, Haack B, Markl H (1987) Sex and parental experience determine the onset of an instinctive behavior in mice. Naturwissenschaften 74:47–48
Fray PJ, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW, Koob GF, Iversen SD (1980) An observational method for quantifying the behavioural effects of dopamine agonists: contrasting effects of d-amphetamine and apomorphine. Psychopharmacology 69:253–259
Jaspers R, Schwarz M, Sontag K-H, Cools AR (1984) Caudate nucleus and programming behaviour in cats: role of dopamine in switching motor patterns. Behav Brain Res 14:17–28
Kelley AE, Winnock M, Stinus L (1986) Amphetamine, apomorphine and investigatory behavior in the rat: analysis of the structure and pattern of responses. Psychopharmacology 88:66–74
Lyon M, Robbins TW (1975) The action of central nervous system stimulant drugs: a general theory concerning amphetamine effects. In: Essman W, Valzeli C (eds) Current developments in psychopharmacology 2. Spectrum, New York, pp 79–163
Lyon N, Mejsholm B, Lyon M (1986) Stereotyped responding by schizophrenic outpatients: cross-cultural confirmation of perseverative switching on a two-choice task. J Psychiatr Res 20, No 2:137–150
Moore K (1978) Amphetamines: biochemical and behavioral actions in animals. In: Iversen LL, Iversen SD, Snyder SH (eds) Handbook of psychopharmacology 11. Plenum Press, New York, pp 41–98
Norton S (1967) An analysis of cat behavior using chlorpromazine and amphetamine. Int J Neuropharmacol 6:307–316
Robbins TW, Sahakian BJ (1983) Behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulant drugs: clinical and neuropsychological implications. In: Creese I (ed) Stimulants: neurochemical, behavioral, and clinical perspectives. Raven Press, New York, pp 301–338
Schmidt WJ (1984) l-dopa and apomorphine disrupt long- but not short-behavioural chains. Physiol Behav 33:671–680
Vrijmoed-de Vries M (1985) Programming motor and non motor behaviour: role of striatum in animals. Masterthesis, Nijmegen, pp 67–69
Zippelius HM, Schleidt WM (1956) Ultraschallaute bei jungen Mäusen. Naturwissenschaften 21:1–2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wegener, S., Schmidt, W.J. & Ehret, G. Haloperidol- and apomorphine-induced changes in pup searching behaviour of house mice. Psychopharmacology 95, 271–275 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174523
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174523