Effects of buspirone on an animal model of tardive Dyskinesia

Abstract

Queiroz, Claudio M.T. and Roberto Frussa-Filho: Effects of Buspirone on An Animal Model of Tardive Dyskinesia. Prog. Neuro-Psychopharmacol. & Biol. Psychiat. 1999, 23, pp. 1405–1418. 1. 1. The effects of buspirone were studied on an animal model of tardive Dyskinesia I.e., the quantification of orofacial dyskinesia in rats repeatedly treated with reserpine. 2. 2. Rats were co-treated with saline [SAL] or buspirone [BUS] (3. 0 mg/Kg I.p., twice daily) and vehicle [VEH] or reserpine [RES] (0. 1 mg/Kg S.c., once every other day) for 19 days. On the day 20, the animals were observed for quantification of the behavioral parameters of orofacial dyskinesia: tongue protrusion and vacuous chewing movements frequencies and duration of twitching of the facial musculature. 3. 3. Rats of the SAL+RES group exhibited a significant increase in the three behavioral parameters of orofacial dyskinesia relative to the rats of the SAL+VEH group. However, animals of the BUS+RES group showed only an increased frequency of vacuous chewing movements when compared to animals of the SAL+VEH group. In addition, the duration of the facial twitching was significantly decreased in the BUS+RES group in relation to rats of the SAL+RES group. There were no significant differences in the orofacial parameters between the BUS+VEH and the SAL+VEH groups. 4. 4. Because it was also verified that chronic buspirone treatment was able to increase apomorphine-induced yawning behavior, the possibility is raised that buspirone attenuates reserpine-induced orofacial dyskinesia through the development of dopamine autoreceptor supersensitivity.