Evaluation of Activity Patterns in Quinpirole-Treated Rats

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate in rats the activity changes associated to treatments with D2-like receptor agonists using a simple behavioral procedure. Rats receiving a single dose of 1 mg/kg quinpirole or vehicle were scored for 6 spontaneous behaviors at different post-injection times. In each time point, the animals were placed in testing cages for 12 min and video-recorded during the last 2 min. The number of forelimb steps and the time spent sniffing were significantly increased by 15 min post-injection in the quinpirole group. Forelimb steps remained increased for at least 24 h. Scores of time spent sniffing, as well as time inactive and number of hindlimb steps appeared greatly altered at 90 and 180 min, but not at later time points. By 48 h, no differences between control and quinpirole-treated rats were observed. In conclusion, the simple behavioral procedure here proposed—or adaptations of it—provides a sensitive test to evaluate the time course of the effects of D2-like receptor agonists on rat spontaneous activity. Additionally, this test takes into account context-dependent sensitization. It can be adapted to different treatment conditions. This methodology would be useful for the preclinical screening of D2-like receptor drugs, using reduced numbers of animals to test those doses and treatment schedules producing less side-effects.