[Disorders of the functional relations of the caudate nucleus and putamen as a possible cause of torsion muscular dystonia].

In cats electrostimulation of nucleus caudatus and putamen produced contralateral rotation of the head which was used to simulate the extrapyramidal torsion disorders. Single or repeated injections of cataleptogenic neuroleptic drugs (haloperidol, metoclopramide) caused nonuniform changes of the thresholds of rotation induced by putamen stimulation. On the contrary, atypical neuroleptics (clozapine, sulpiride, tioridazine) facilitated equally both types of striatum-induced responses. The authors infer that acute muscular dystonia can result from disorder in intrastriatal relations between nucleus caudatus and puramen.