The activity of dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key mechanism in mesolimbic reward processing that has modulatory effects on different diencephalic structures like hippocampus (HIP), and receives inhibitory feedback and excitatory feed forward control. In addition, within the hippocampus, DA receptors are mostly located in the dorsal part (CA1) and dopa...

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are two major areas for the mesolimbic dopaminergic system which are strongly involved in the development of behavioral sensitization. In the present study, we investigated the role of D1/D2 dopaminergic receptors within the NAc or VTA in response to sensitization to morphine by the tail-flick test as a model of acute pain. Sensit...

Brain dopaminergic transmission is a critical component in numerous vital functions, and its dysfunction is involved in several disorders, including addiction and Parkinson's disease. Responses to dopamine are mediated via G protein-coupled dopamine receptors (D1-D5). Desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors is mediated via phosphorylation by members of the family of G protein-coupled rec...

Dextromethorphan, a noncompetitive blocker of N-methyl-D- aspartate (NMDA) type of glutamate receptor, at 7.5-75 mg/kg, ip did not induce oral stereotypies or catalepsy and did not antagonize apomorphine stereotypy in rats. These results indicate that dextromethorphan at 7.5-75 mg/kg does not stimulate or block postsynaptic striatal D2 and D1 dopamine (DA) receptors. Pretreatment with 15 and 30...

Putative dopaminergic (pDAergic) ventral tegmental area neurons play an important role in brain pathways related to addiction. Extended exposure of pDAergic neurons to moderate concentrations of dopamine (DA) results in a time-dependent decrease in sensitivity of pDAergic neurons to DA inhibition, a process called dopamine inhibition reversal (DIR). We have shown that DIR is mediated by phospho...

Dopamine receptors (nomenclature as agreed by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on Receptors [373]) are commonly divided into D1-like (D1 and D5) D2-like (D2, D3 D4) families, where endogenous agonist is dopamine.

Several studies have shown that the level of dopaminergic transmission and D1 receptor signaling is crucial for working memory (WM) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of mammals. Thus, hyper- or hypostimulation of prefrontal D1 receptors are pathophysiological findings often involved in cognitive and WM impairments. These observations can be mimicked by supranormal stimulation or inhibition with D1...

The identification of five dopamine receptors in the past decade (12, 15, 19, 61, 63, 64, 67, 70) has led to renewed enthusiasm for the study of the possible role of dopaminergic dysfunction in neuropsychiatric conditions, especially in psychotic disorders and substance abuse. These five dopamine receptors are all members of the superfamily of seven transmembrane domain, G-protein coupled recep...

An intact mesocortical dopaminergic (DA) input to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been reported to be necessary for long-term potentiation (LTP) to occur at hippocampal-prefrontal cortex synapses. Here, we investigated the role of D1 and D2 receptors in this NMDA receptor-dependent LTP. Local infusion of the D1 agonist SKF81297 at an optimal dose induced a sustained enhancement of hippocampal-P...

Preliminary evidence indicates that dopamine given by mouth facilitates the learning of motor skills and improves the recovery of movement after stroke. The mechanism of these phenomena is unknown. Here, we describe a mechanism by demonstrating in rat that dopaminergic terminals and receptors in primary motor cortex (M1) enable motor skill learning and enhance M1 synaptic plasticity. Eliminatio...