Pharmacological characterisation of spontaneous or drug-associated purposeless chewing movements in rats

Continuous administration of haloperidol, sulpiride, or cis-flupenthixol, but not of domperidone or apomorphine, to Wistar rats for up to 3 weeks caused an increase in spontaneous purposeless chewing movements. Treatment with physostigmine and pilocarpine, but not neostigmine, for up to 3 weeks increased chewing, whilst scopolamine decreased chewing. Metergoline and cyproheptadine, but not quipazine, increased chewing after only 1 and 7 days but not thereafter. Chewing was not altered following treatment with compounds acting on GABA or noradrenaline systems or by a range of non-neuroleptic agents inducing dystonia in man. The enhancement of chewing induced by neuroleptic and cholinomimetic drugs was reduced by acute treatment with scopolamine, and reverted to control levels following drug withdrawal. Neuroleptic-induced purposeless chewing in Wistar rats appears to be primarily influenced by cerebral dopamine and acetylcholine function and may resemble acute dystonia, rather than tardive dyskinesia.