Chronic treatment with bromocriptine induces behavioral supersensitivity in rats.

Chronic treatment of rotating rats with equipotent doses of the dopamine (DA) agonists apomorphine (APO), 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-n-propylpyrrolidine hydrobromide (DPPP) and bromocriptine (BRO) for four weeks resulted in marked differences in rotational activity following acute administration of these agonists. Whereas chronic treatment with APO and DPPP failed to produce any significant changes in agonist-induced rotational behavior, chronic BRO treatment induced a progressive increase in rotational activity up to a mean 200% increase over controls at four weeks. These findings may, in part, explain the long-term clinical efficacy of bromocriptine in patients with Parkinson's disease.