Evidence that lack of brain dopamine during development can increase the susceptibility for aggression and self-injurious behavior by influencing D1-dopamine receptor function.

1. Lesch-Nyhan disease has a defined neurological lesion that is accompanied by abnormal motor function, aggression and self-injurious behavior. 2. The dopamine deficiency in Lesch-Nyhan disease has been modelled by destroying dopamine-containing neurons in neonatal rats with 6-hydroxydopamine. 3. Because D1-dopamine antagonists will block self-injurious behavior induced by L-DOPA in neonatal-6-OHDA-lesioned rats, D1-dopamine antagonists are proposed as a potential therapy for aggression and self-injurious behavior in patients with these symptoms. 4. The determination that the drug SCH-12679, which exhibited effectiveness against aggressiveness in mentally retarded patients, is a D1-dopamine antagonist supports the view that new D1-dopamine antagonists being developed will be an effective therapy for some types of aberrant behavior in this population.