[Behavioral assessment of neuroleptics (2)--stereotypy]

This paper describes the definition of stereotypy and the different methods available for measuring both the form and the invariance of stereotyped behavior. With respect to the use of stereotypy for screening antipsychotic drugs, commonly used techniques for observing dopamine agonist-induced oral stereotypy in rats and the relevant points to analyze in the results are discussed. Apart from the ways of visually analyzing stereotyped behavior, some approaches for quantifying the intensity of stereotypy by using automated systems are also discussed.