Different effects of subchronic clozapine and haloperidol on dye-coupling between neurons in the rat striatal complex

Atypical antipsychotic drugs, such as clozapine, are distinguished from classical antipsychotics (e.g. haloperidol) by their lower liability for producing motor side-effects. Although initial studies suggested that the clinical efficacy of antipsychotic drugs is related to their affinity for the D2 dopamine receptor, the delayed onset of both the therapeutic effects and the extrapyramidal symptoms associated with these drugs implicates a more complex mechanism of action. In this study, we found that continuous (but not acute) treatment of rats with either drug caused an increase in dye coupling between neurons in the limbic component of the rat striatal complex (i.e. the shell region of the nucleus accumbens) after withdrawal of the drugs. Furthermore, continuous treatment with haloperidol, but not clozapine, also increased dye coupling in the motor-related part of the striatal complex (i.e. the dorsal striatum). Thus, both therapeutically effective drugs show a delayed effect on dye coupling between neurons in the accumbens shell, whereas only the drug associated with motor side effects altered coupling between cells in the dorsal striatum. Antipsychotic drugs may therefore alleviate the profound disturbances in cognitive function of schizophrenics by producing sustained alterations in the way signals from the cortex are integrated within these brain regions.