The effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics on the electrical activity of the brain in a rat model

Abstract

Objective: Antipsychotic drugs are known to have strong effect on the bioelectric activity in the brain. However, some studies addressing the changes on electroencephalography (EEG) caused by typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs are conflicting. We aimed to compare the effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics on the electrical activity in the brain via EEG recordings in a rat model. Methods: Thirty-two Sprague Dawley adult male rats were used in the study. The rats were divided into five groups, randomly (n=7, for each group). The first group was used as control group and administered 1 ml/kg saline intraperitoneally (IP). Haloperidol (1 mg/kg) (group 2), chlorpromazine (5 mg/kg) (group 3), olanzapine (1 mg/kg) (group 4), ziprasidone (1 mg/ kg) (group 5) were injected IP for five consecutive days. Then, EEG recordings of each group were taken for 30 minutes. Results: The percentages of delta and theta waves in haloperidol, chlorpromazine, olanzapine and ziprasidone groups were found to have a highly significant difference compared with the saline administration group (p<0.001). The theta waves in the olanzapine and ziprasidone groups were increased compared with haloperidol and chlorpromazine groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: The typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs may be risk factor for EEG abnormalities. This study shows that antipsychotic drugs should be used with caution.