Neonatal 6-hydroxydopamine administration to mice is fatal.

Depletion of dopamine in adult rats by treatment with the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) causes severe deficits in feeding, drinking, and movement that often lead to death. However, when neonatal rats are treated similarly, they survive normally, suggesting that compensatory adaptation to dopamine depletion occurs. In contrast, dopamine-deficient mice that have a selective genetic deficiency in dopamine production die 2-4 weeks after birth.