Source Paper
Prepulse Inhibition Deficits and Perseverative Motor Patterns in Dopamine Transporter Knock-Out Mice: Differential Effects of D1 and D2 Receptor Antagonists
Rebecca J. Ralph, Martin P. Paulus, Fabio Fumagalli, Marc G. Caron, Mark A. Geyer
Journal of Neuroscience • 2001
D2 Receptor Antagonist Challenge with Raclopride
Objective: To examine the effects of D2 receptor antagonist raclopride on prepulse inhibition and motor behavior in dopamine transporter knock-out mice
This is a D2 Receptor Antagonist Challenge with Raclopride protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 2 materials. Extracted from a 2001 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
mouse • dopamine transporter (DAT) knock-out mice and DAT (+/+) control mice • unknown • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Baseline behavioral assessment • Raclopride pretreatment • SCH23390 pretreatment
Primary readouts
- Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response
- Motor behavior patterns (perseverative vs. meandering locomotion)
- Hyperactivity levels in novel environment
- Effects of D2 receptor antagonism on sensorimotor gating
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
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Baseline behavioral assessment
Establish baseline measurements of prepulse inhibition, motor behavior patterns, and activity levels in DAT (−/−) mice and DAT (+/+) control mice
Note: DAT (−/−) mice exhibited deficient sensorimotor gating, nonfocal perseverative locomotion patterns, and hyperactivity
View evidence from paper
“At baseline, DAT (−/−) mice exhibited deficient sensorimotor gating as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, exhibited nonfocal perseverative patterns of locomotion, and were hyperactive in a novel environment”
Raclopride pretreatment
Administer raclopride (D2 receptor antagonist) as pretreatment to DAT (−/−) mice
Note: Dose and route of administration not specified
View evidence from paper
“Pretreatment with raclopride significantly increased PPI in the DAT (−/−) mice”
SCH23390 pretreatment
Administer SCH23390 (D1 receptor antagonist) as pretreatment to DAT (−/−) mice for comparison
Note: Dose and route of administration not specified
View evidence from paper
“SCH23390 had no significant effect”
Measure prepulse inhibition
Measure prepulse inhibition of the startle response following drug pretreatment
Note: Raclopride significantly increased PPI in DAT (−/−) mice; SCH23390 had no significant effect
View evidence from paper
“Pretreatment with raclopride significantly increased PPI in the DAT (−/−) mice, whereas SCH23390 had no significant effect”
Assess motor behavior patterns
Evaluate motor behavior patterns including perseverative locomotion and meandering behavior following drug pretreatment
Note: D2 blockade did not affect straight motor patterns; D1 antagonism attenuated perseverative patterns
View evidence from paper
“Blockade of D2 receptors did not affect the predominantly straight patterns of motor behavior produced by the DAT (−/−) mice, but antagonism of D1 receptors significantly attenuated the perseverative patterns”
Measure motor activity levels
Quantify total motor activity and hyperactivity following drug pretreatment
Note: Both D1 and D2 receptor antagonists decreased hyperactivity
View evidence from paper
“Both D1 and D2 receptor antagonists decreased the hyperactivity seen in the DAT (−/−) mice”