Supersensitivity of d-amphetamine-induced hyperthermia in rats following continuous treatment with neuroleptics.

Following short term treatments with the neuroleptic drugs haloperidol, chlorpromazine and oxypertine, there was an increase in the sensitivity of rats to the hyperthermic effects of d-amphetamine. There was no significant difference in the body temperature of control and neuroleptic-treated rats prior to challenge with d-amphetamine. No change in the maximal hyperthermic response was observed. It is possible that these responses may be related to the neuroleptic malignant syndrome occasionally observed in human patients following short term neuroleptic treatments.