Haloperidol- and apomorphine-induced changes in pup searching behaviour of house mice

Maternal pup searching behaviour of lactating house mice treated with apomorphine, haloperidol or saline was examined on a running board with a central depression as a nest. Pup searching was elicited by artificial ultrasonic stimuli: a female moved out from the nest either towards a 50 kHz tone (key stimulus) which is adequate to activate species specific pup searching behaviour or towards a 20 kHz tone (neutral stimulus), thus showing her preference for one of these stimuli. Under apomorphine (0.00625; 0.0125; 0.025 mg/kg) the females preferred the key stimulus. Nevertheless apomorphine (0.00625-0.025 mg/kg) prolonged response latencies and shortened the duration of pup searching. At the highest dose (0.05 mg/kg), apomorphine induced stereotyped sniffing. Haloperidol (0.025; 0.05; 0.1 mg/kg) had opposite effects to apomorphine: it lowered the threshold for elicitation, shortened response latencies and prolonged the duration of pup searching. Females treated with haloperidol (0.025-0.1 mg/kg) did not prefer the key stimulus. Changes in response elicitation and in the performance of pup searching induced by apomorphine and haloperidol, respectively, were assumed to be due to i) a reduced and an increased responsiveness to external stimuli respectively, ii) an enhanced and a reduced tendency for response switching respectively, and iii) a preference for spontaneous behaviour in apomorphine-treated females, with an increased dependence on exteroceptive stimuli following haloperidol.