Neuroleptic-induced catalepsy as a model of Parkinson's disease. II. Effect of glutamate antagonists.

Subcutaneous administration of fluphenazine elicits catelepsy that can be attenuated by the glutamate antagonists MK801 and phencyclidine (PCP). 3-[-(+)-2-carboxy piperazine-4-yl]-propyl-1-phosphanate (CPP) was found to be ineffective in this model. Intrastriatal injections of sulpiride or fluphenazine were also found to induce catalepsy which could be attenuated by MK801 and PCP. These results illustrate that nondopaminergic compounds might possibly be of value in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Furthermore it was demonstrated that this paradigm can be utilized to investigate neurotransmitter interactions within the striatum. This was clearly emphasized by the observation that bilateral administration of MK801 into the striatum increased basal locomotor activity.