SEROQUEL - BEHAVIORAL-EFFECTS IN CONVENTIONAL AND NOVEL TESTS FOR ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUG

Seroquel was compared to clozapine and several other antipsychotic age nts in tests predictive of antipsychotic activity or extrapyramidal sy mptoms. In the conditioned avoidance test in squirrel monkeys as well as several paradigms using apomorphine or amphetamine-induced behavior al alterations, seroquel displayed the profile of a drug with potentia l antipsychotic activity. In these paradigms the potency of seroquel w as somewhat less than clozapine in rodent tests, while the reverse was true in higher species, i.e. monkeys, cats. In tests designed to eval uate the propensity to induce EPS or tardive dyskinesia, for example, the production of dyskinetic reactions in haloperidol-sensitized cebus monkeys, seroquel displayed a profile similar to clozapine and dispar ate from typical antipsychotic drugs. In drug-naive cebus monkeys sero quel sensitized significantly fewer monkeys than haloperidol and the d yskinetic reactions were of significantly less intensity. It is antici pated that this novel antipsychotic agent will have a significantly re duced propensity to produce extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskin esia than typical antipsychotics.