Changes in local cerebral glucose utilization and dopamine metabolism in the rat brain following acute administration of haloperidol.

The effects of acute administration of haloperidol on local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in 26 discrete regions of the rat brain were examined by the quantitative autoradiographic [14C] 2-deoxy-D-glucose technique and compared with the changes in dopamine (DA) metabolism in 13 brain regions examined by a high performance liquid chromatographic assay. A moderate dose (0.25 mg/kg) of acute haloperidol significantly reduced LCGU in a few brain regions; a high dose (1.0 mg/kg) reduced LCGU in 11 regions including the prefrontal cortex, thalamus and other subcortical structures, but not in the caudate putamen or accumbens nucleus. However, the levels of DA metabolite in the caudate-putamen, accumbens nucleus, prefrontal cortex, and medial thalamus were strikingly elevated with both doses of haloperidol. Thus, the changes in LCGU did not parallel presynaptic DA metabolism in terms of direction or distribution, and they might represent mainly the activities of postsynaptic sites.