These experiments were designed to examine the time course of development of the enhanced stereotyped behavioral response to amphetamine after withdrawal from chronic pretreatment with amphetamine and to determine whether this time course correlates with that of the enhancement in the amphetamine-induced stimulation of the release of dopamine (DA) from striatal slices. Rats were pretreated with amphetamine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline, twice daily for 5 consecutive days. At 3, 15 and 30 days after withdrawal of the drug the stereotyped behavioral response and the release of endogenous DA from slices of striatum in response to a challenge dose of amphetamine were measured. At all 3 times tested, the stereotyped behavioral response to the challenge dose of amphetamine was enhanced in the rats pretreated with amphetamine, with the greatest degree of enhancement seen at 15 and 30 days after withdrawal of the drug. At these times, the responses were associated with a significant attenuation in the stimulation of locomotor activity produced by the challenge dose of amphetamine, which was probably related to the enhanced stereotyped behavioral response. Amphetamine stimulated the release of endogenous DA from slices of striatum in rats pretreated with saline and amphetamine. However, the release of endogenous DA from slices of rats pretreated with amphetamine was significantly greater than that of saline-pretreated rats at 15 and 30 days after withdrawal of the drug, but not at 3 days after withdrawal. Thus, pretreatment with amphetamine resulted in enhanced behavioral and biochemical responses to amphetamine which increased over time after withdrawal of the drug.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)