D-1 dopamine receptors in the rat brain: a quantitative autoradiographic analysis

Abstract

The distribution of dopamine D-1 receptors has been determined in the rat brain by a quantitative in vitro light-microscopic autoradiographic method. The binding of [N-methyl-3H]-SCH 23390 to slide-mounted tissue sections takes place with characteristics expected of a substance that recognizes D-1 receptors. The binding is saturable, has high affinity, and exhibits an appropriate pharmacology and stereospecificity in several discrete microscopic brain regions as determined by quantitative autoradiography. The highest density of D-1 receptors occurs in the caudate-putamen, accumbens nucleus, olfactory tubercle, and the substantia nigra pars reticulata. High concentrations of D-1 receptors were associated with the intercalated and medial nuclei of the amygdala, entopeduncular nucleus, and major island of Calleja. Furthermore, moderate to low concentrations were observed in several other structures, such as the frontal cortex, subthalamic nucleus, and several thalamic, hypothalamic, and hippocampal areas. The distribution of D-1 receptors correlates very well with projection areas of dopaminergic pathways. This technique furnishes a powerful assay for the accumulation of detailed pharmacologic and anatomical data about D-1 receptors, and the results suggest possible CNS sites of action of D-1 dopamine receptor selective compounds.

Developmental Regulation of the Dopamine D1 Receptor in Human Caudate and Putamen

“…We focused on the caudate and putamen due to the high density of D 1 receptors in these regions (Dawson et al 1986), as well as the importance of these areas in the etiology, pathology, and/or treatment of both schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease (Graybiel 1997). Our results, obtained using several complementary methods of analysis, provide strong evidence for developmental regulation of human D 1 receptor number, but not affinity.…”

Instrumental learning, but not performance, requires dopamine D1-receptor activation in the amygdala

“…However, these studies involved lesions that are non-selective with regard to neurotransmitter coding. Convincing evidence exists that both the CeA and BLA are innervated by midbrain DA neurons and contain moderate to high basal levels of both DA and DA D1 receptors (Asan, 1997;Boyson et al, 1986;Dawson et al, 1986;Young and Rees, 1998). Yet, only a few studies have investigated the role of DA receptor activation in the amygdala in learning, especially D1 receptor activation (Caine et al, 1995;Stevenson and Gratton, 2004;Zarrindast et al, 2003), although significant work on drug-related processes suggests important amygdalar DA involvement (Hitchcott and Phillips, 1998a,b;See et al, 2001).…”

Dopamine-modulated dynamic cell assemblies generated by the GABAergic striatal microcircuit

“…Diseases that directly affect the striatum or its primary afferents -such as Huntington's or Parkinson's disease -lead to profound deficits in motor control. In particular, loss of dopamine cells in Parkinson's disease and its animal models leads to motor symptoms of rigidity, akinesia, and tremor (Schwarting & Huston, 1996;Kirik et al, 1998;Ferro et al, 2005), and the striatum is the main locus of dopamine's action, containing the highest density of dopamine receptors in the vertebrate brain (Dawson et al, 1986;Richtand et al, 1995;Hurd et al, 2001). Moreover, an intact dopamine system also seems to be critical for many forms of learning (Whishaw & Dunnett, 1985;Ferro et al, 2005), consistent with reported correlations between dopamine cell firing and the prediction error required by reinforcement learning theories (Redgrave & Gurney, 2006;Schultz, 2007).…”