Introduction: Spreading depression (SD) is a propagating wave of depolarization followed by depression of the neuroglial activities and can modulate extracellular dopamine concentrations in the neocortex. It has been shown that the dopaminergic system plays a role in migraine. SD has been suggested as a critical phenomenon in the pathophysiology of migraine. The aim of this study was to investi...

4-(Dimethylamino)-N-(4-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl)benzamide (WC-10), a N-phenyl piperazine analog, displays high affinity and moderate selectivity for dopamine D3 receptors versus dopamine D2 receptors (Chu et al. [2005] Bioorg Med Chem 13:77–87). In this study, WC-10 was radiolabeled with tritium (specific activity 5 80 Ci/mmol), and quantitative autoradiography studies were cond...

Previous studies have shown that antidepressant drugs with different pharmacological profiles, administered repeatedly, increase the locomotor hyperactivity induced by various dopaminomimetics, among others by (+/-)7-hydroxydipropylaminotetralin (7-OH-DPAT). Since, according to a recent study, this drug shows a high affinity for not only dopamine D3 but also dopamine D2 receptors, a question ar...

Background Increased locomotor activity in response to the same stimulus is an index of behavioral sensitization observed in preclinical models of drug addiction and compulsive behaviors. Repeated administration of quinpirole, a D2/D3 dopamine agonist, induces locomotor sensitization. This effect is potentiated and accelerated by co-administration of U69593, a kappa opioid receptor agonist. The...

In the present study, interactions of dopamine receptor agonists and antagonists with water swimming stress (WSS) on naloxone-induced jumping in morphine-dependent mice were examined. Mice were rendered dependent as described in the methods section. The opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone (1 mg/kg), was injected to elicit jumping (as a withdrawal sign). The first group exposed to WSS in the pr...

Memories of learned associations between the rewarding properties of drugs and environmental cues contribute significantly to craving and relapse in humans. We have investigated how dopamine (DA) D1 and D3 receptors modulate the acquisition and extinction of cocaine-induced reward learning and associated changes in cellular signaling in reward circuits in the brain. We found that D1 receptor mu...

Dopamine neurotransmission regulates various brain functions, and its regulatory roles are mediated by two families of G protein-coupled receptors: the D1 and D2 receptor families. In mammals, the D1 family comprises two receptor subtypes (D1 and D5), while the D2 family comprises three receptor subtypes (D2, D3 and D4). Phylogenetic analyses of dopamine receptor genes strongly suggest that the...