Biochemical and Behavioural Effects of Thiothixene: Relation to Tissue Levels of the Drug

Abstract Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single intraperitoneal dose of a thioxanthene neuroleptic, thiothixene. The effect on the spontaneous motor activity and the level of homovanillic acid in the striatum and the olfactory tubercle were studied at various times after the injection of the drug. The concentration of thiothixene in the blood and brain was also followed. The rats showed a significant decrease in motor activity from 15 min. to 12 hours after the injection. The HVA-levels in the striatum and olfactory tubercle were significantly elevated from 0.5 to 18 hours, the effect on the striatum being relatively more pronounced. No clear relation between drug levels and changes in motor activity of HVA-levels was found.