Electrocardiographic and behavioral effects ofl-DOPA in the guinea-pig

Conclusions The effects ofl-DOPA administered per os on conditioning, spontaneous behavior and the electrocardiogram of the guinea-pig are reported and compared.l-DOPA is able to inhibit the conditioned behavior in doses per os without any effect on spontaneous behavior or motility. Moreoverl-DOPA in doses up to 15 times higher than the average therapeutic daily dose pro kg used in man (TDD), does not alter the ECG of the guinea-pig. We did not observe ECG changes even after a total dose pro kg 60 times higher than TDD, which induced behavioral alterations in the 4 treated animals and one death.The present results may indicate psychotropic properties forl-DOPA and do confirm the low toxicity and cardiotoxicity of the drug, when supplied in a pure preparation of quality 12.

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Zusammenfassung Verabreicht manl-Dopa (1000 mg/kg per os) an Meerschweinchen, so kann dadurch das konditionierte Verhalten gehemmt werden, während das Spontanverhalten und die Motilität unverändert bleiben. Es sind keine Modifikationen des Elektrokardiogramms festzustellen, selbst dann nicht, wenn die 60fache mittlere therapeutische Tagesdosis gegeben wird.