Similarities and differences between the subchronic and withdrawal effects of clozapine and olanzapine on forelimb force steadiness

The purpose of this study was to compare the subchronic, low-dose effects of clozapine with those of olanzapine in a learned behavioral task previously shown to distinguish between clozapine and haloperidol with acute and subchronic treatment regimes. Rats were trained to use a single forelimb to press a force-recording operandum and simultaneously to lick water from a dipper that remained available while forelimb force exceeded a modest lower limit. Analysis of the resulting force-time recordings provided measures of task engagement (time on task - analogous to response rate), lick rhythm, tremor, ballistic (maximum force) and tonic (hold force) forelimb force measures, as well as the durations of the individual responses. In a between-groups dosing design, five separate groups of rats received vehicle, clozapine 1.0 or 5.0 mg/kg, olanzapine 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg daily for 27 days. A 7-day withdrawal period followed. On days 22 and 26 of antipsychotic drug treatment, all rats additionally received 0.3 mg/kg trihexyphenidyl or 1.0 mg/kg quipazine, respectively. The effects of olanzapine and clozapine were similar in that both drugs reduced time on task, increased response duration, and slowed lick rhythm. The two drugs differed in that clozapine reduced the force and tremor measures but olanzapine did not. Both tolerance and withdrawal effects, as reflected by the tremor measure, were observed for clozapine but not for olanzapine. Trihexyphenidyl further increased the duration of responses already lengthened by clozapine; in contrast, trihexyphenidyl decreased the duration lengthening effect of olanzapine. Taken together, the results indicated that olanzapine did not have the antitremor and hypotonic effects displayed by clozapine, and olanzapine did not induce tolerance and withdrawal phenomena as clozapine did.