PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - A Barnett AU - J Goldstein TI - Head-turning induced by electrical stimulation of the caudate nucleus and its antagonism by anti-parkinson drugs. DP - 1975 Aug 01 TA - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics PG - 296--302 VI - 194 IP - 2 4099 - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/194/2/296.short 4100 - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/194/2/296.full SO - J Pharmacol Exp Ther1975 Aug 01; 194 AB - Intermittent high-frequency electrical stimulation of the caudate nucleus induces contralateralhead-turning in rats. The anti-Parkinson drugs, L-dopa, amantadine and apomorphine, raise the threshold for or completely inhibit head-turning. There was a high correlation between the predicted clinical potency and these drugs based on inhibition of head-turning and their respective clinical anti-Parkinson potency. The centrally acting anticholinergic drugs also antagonized head-turning but there was not a good correlation between the predicted and acutal anti-Parkinson doses used in man. In order to determine if these drugs blocked head-turning by acting on the caudate nucleus, a combination cannula and stimulating electrode was used to administer drugs directly into the same area of the caudate nucleus being stimulated electrically. Dopamine, amantadine and apomorphine each antagonized head-turning when infused into the same site, at doses which did not produce concurrent overt sterotyped behavior. Time- and dose-response data with all three drugs suggest a direct inhibitory action on the caudate nucleus consistent with their proposed mechanism for treatment of Parkinson symptomatology. Head-turning appears to be a useful animal model for the development of new, specific anti-Parkinson drugs and for the study of possible mechanism(s) of action of existing drugs.