The effect of catecholamine receptor antagonists on ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation

The effect of various catecholamine receptor antagonists, which differ in their potency to block central dopamine and noradrenaline receptors, respectively, on ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation was investigated. It was shown that small doses of both specific dopamine (pimozide, haloperidol) and noradrenaline (phenoxybenzamine, yohimbine) receptor blocking agents statistically significantly suppressed the ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation. Of special interest in this study was the observation that remarkably small doses of clozapine completely antagonized the ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation. The possibility that this effect of clozapine is mediated via its interference with the activity of central noradrenaline and/or GABA neurons is discussed.