The effects of the D₁ receptor antagonist SCH-23390 on individual and aggressive behavior in male mice with different experience of aggression

Abstract

The dopaminergic systems of the brain are known to be involved in the mechanisms of aggression. The present report describes studies of the effects of acute administration of the dopamine D₁ receptor antagonist SCH-23390 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p., over 30 min) on the individual and aggressive behavior of male mice of the line C57BL/6J with different experience of aggression. A group of animals with no previous experience of aggression responded to administration of this agent with decreases in direct aggression (attacks), though the total time of hostile behavior, i.e., the sum of the durations of attacks, aggressive grooming, and scattering of foreign litter, showed no change. The agent had no effect on the aggressivity of animals with 20 days of experience of agonistic confrontations. The discussion addresses the possible development of pharmacological densensitization of dopamine D₁ receptors in aggressive males in response to prolonged activation of the dopaminergic systems in conditions of repeated experience of aggression, as demonstrated previously.