Effects of Haloperidol and Clozapine on Fos Expression in the Primate Striatum

In cynomolgus monkeys, the typical neuroleptic haloperidol induced strong expression of the immediate early gene product Fos in both the nucleus accumbens shell and the dorsal striatum. In the caudate nucleus, haloperidol induced staining was more marked in the striosomes than the matrix. The atypical neuroleptic clozapine also induced Fos expression in the nucleus accumbens, but, in contrast to haloperidol, had only a small effect in the dorsal striatum. Additionally, clozapine was more potent than haloperidol at inducing Fos-like immunoreactivity in the islands of Calleja. These results are similar to those typically obtained in rodents, and suggest that the basic mechanisms underlying the regional specificity of the effects of atypical neuroleptics are likely be conserved between these two mammalian orders.