Haloperidol-induced microcatalepsy differs in CD-1, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 mice

The degree of arrest of movement (microcatalepsy) induced by haloperidol at doses equipotent for operant rate suppression was measured with computerized instrumentation. The inbred C57BL/6 mouse strain displayed more susceptibility to microcatalepsy than the CD-1 and BALB/c strains. In addition, the C57BL/6 strain exhibited a greater degree of sensitization to repeated dosing than did the other 2 strains. The results were consistent with the C57BL/6 mouse's hypodopaminergic profile reported in the literature but were at odds with results reported for conventional catalepsy testing. The C57BL/6 mouse may serve as a model for genetic vulnerability to extrapyramidal motor side effects and may be useful in quantifying the mild extrapyramidal motor side effects of atypical antipsychotic drugs.