A pharmacologically pertinent animal model of mania

Intraventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (HDA) produces rats which are irritable and hyperresponsive to environmental stimuli. Chronic administration of lithium was found to prevent the development of hyperreactivity to mild footshock, while chronic electroconvulsive shock effected a return toward normal behavior. HDA-induced hyperreactivity is proposed as a pharmacological model of mania.