Transient blocking of persistent gnawing by haloperidol in rats with seizure-induced multifocal brain damage

Frequent but phasic gnawing of objects is displayed by rats in which severe damage within: 1) the substantia nigra reticulata, 2) all of the amygdaloid nuclei except the central group and 3) multiple thalamic nuclei, was induced by lithium/pilocarpine-induced seizures. Multiple lesions were produced by these rats upon their own tails as well as upon the tails of their cage mates. These behaviors were considered predictable sequela of the disinhibition of compacta dopamine upon orofacial mechanisms that are modulated by the corpus striatum. In a manner similar to tail pinch-induced eating, the usually quick onset of spontaneous gnawing upon food chunks in a test setting was delayed transiently by appropriate dosages of haloperidol.