[Ultrastructural basis of the effect of haloperidol on the brain]

It has been established in rat experiments that haloperidol administration gives rise to the formation of a great number of coated vesicles in the cytoplasm of the sensorimotor cortex, thalamus, hippocamp, and central grey matter as well as to lysosomal activation and appearance of subsurface cisternae. Besides, the movement of mitochondria to the neuronal processes is intensified. The karyotropic action of haloperidol manifests in an increase of the size and amount of nuclear pores and in activation of the nucleoli. The drug action is also characterized by the lowering of the number of microtubules in the dendrites within the first hours after haloperidol administration, followed by its recovery in a day. The synaptic apparatus remains unchanged.