The acute administration of dopamine D(1) receptor agonists induces the expression of the immediate early gene c-fos. In wild type mice, this induction is completely abolished by pretreatment with the D(1)-selective antagonist SCH23390, and pretreatment with the D(2)-like receptor antagonist eticlopride reduces the levels of c-fos expressed in response to D(1) receptor stimulation. Mice deficie...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the effects of methamphetamine (METH) on dopaminergic and serotonergic systems are likely related to METH-induced increases in dopamine release. The ability of haloperidol to prevent these effects of METH suggests that dopamine receptor activation is involved in mediating these METH actions. The present studies were undertaken to determine what role the d...

This study examined the role of dopamine (DA) in partner preference (PP) formation in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). The nonspecific DA antagonist haloperidol blocked mating-induced PP, whereas the nonspecific DA agonist apomorphine induced PP without mating. The D2 antagonist eticlopride, but not the D1 antagonist SCH23390, blocked PP, whereas the D2 agonist quinpirole, but not t...

Training in step-down inhibitory avoidance (0.3-mA footshock) is followed by biochemical changes in rat hippocampus that strongly suggest an involvement of quantitative changes in glutamate AMPA receptors, followed by changes in the dopamine D1 receptor/cAMP/ protein kinase A (PKA)/CREB-P signalling pathway in memory consolidation. AMPA binding to its receptor and levels of the AMPA receptor-sp...

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been used to suppress heroin craving in addicts and the conditioned place preference (CPP) for morphine in the rat. The question remained whether EA by itself will produce some rewarding effect. This was investigated using the CPP procedure in the present study. The results indicated that rats showed a significant preference to the 2 Hz EA-paired compartment. This re...

Although D1 receptor knockout mice demonstrate normal morphine place preferences, antagonism of basolateral amygdala (BLA) D1 receptors only during drug-naive rat conditioning has been reported to inhibit the expression of a morphine place preference. One possible explanation for this result is state-dependent learning. That is, the omission of the intra-BLA infusion cue during testing - which ...

The interactions between N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and D(1) dopamine receptors in the rat prefrontal cortex were examined using whole-cell recordings from pyramidal neurons. The effects of NMDA, the D(1) agonist SKF38393, or both compounds combined were tested on measures of cell excitability. Both NMDA (10-100 microM) and SKF38393 (5-10 microM) independently increased the number of spikes an...

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...

Decisions are often driven by a combination of immediate perception and previous experience. In this study, we investigated how these two sources of information are integrated and the neural systems that mediate this process. Specifically, we injected a dopamine type 1 antagonist (D1A; SCH23390) or a dopamine type 2 antagonist (D2A; eticlopride) into the dorsal striatum while macaques performed...

The mechanisms underlying the effects of psychostimulants in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not well understood, but indirect evidence implicates D2 dopamine receptors. Here we dissect the components of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the hyperactive mouse mutant coloboma to identify pre- and postsynaptic elements essential for the effects of amphetamine in these mice. Am...