Behavioral effects of dopamine agonists across the estrous cycle in rats

The effects of apomorphine upon stereotype and bromocriptine upon wheel running and intracranial reward were examined across the estrous cycle of female rats. Apomorphine elicited stereotypy in a dose-related fashion, but stereotypy was not reliably or systematically altered by estrous conditions. On the other hand, wheel running was augmented by bromocriptine in an estrous-specific fashion. Self-stimulation was increased by bromocriptine but this was not related to estrous cyclicity. These findings provide evidence for possible behavioral and motivational specificity of dopamine (DA) receptor-related estrous changes.