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Spano PF, Govoni S, Trabucchi M. 
“Studies on the Pharmacological Properties of Dopamine Receptors in Various Areas of the Central Nervous System”. 
Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology. 1978;19:156-165.
Abstract
The hypothesis of a unique physiological role of dopamine as a neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain was first put forth by Carlsson and associates in 1958 (6). The involvement of dopamine-specific receptors in the behavioral mode of action of different drugs was proposed in 1965 (13,33). Ivan Rossum (33), on one hand, suggested that several neuroleptie drugs may act as antagonists at central dopamine receptors. On the other hand, Ernst ( 13 ) suggested that apomorphine may bring about its behavioral effects by an agonistie interaction at the central dopamine receptors. However, the direct demonstration and the molecular pharmacological characterization of the central dopamine receptors were hampered by the approach used by these authors. Their studies in fact were based on behavioral phenomena induced by drugs injected peripherally. Over the last years new findings have offered more direct approaches to study dopamine receptor pharmacology. An adenylate eyelase, preferentially stimulated by dopamine, has been described in homogenates of bovine superior cervical ganglia (24), calf and rat retinas (1), rat caudate nucleus (25), and nucleus accumbens and tubereulum olfaetorium in the mesolimbic system (20). These findings have led to the suggestion that in these areas the dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyelase and the dopamine receptor may be related, and that the physiological effects of dopamine could be mediated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP). On the other hand, with the recently developed technique of radioreceptor binding it has been possible to label apparent postsynaptic dopamine receptor sites with [3H]dopamine or with [3H]haloperidol (2,3,9,36) and with [3H]spiroperidol (14). This technique, in addition to providing evidence for a specific binding in those brain regions rich in dopaminergic synapses, offered a new approach to investigating the affinity of drugs for the dopamine receptor (10,35,36).
Notes # : Publ.: Roberts PJ et al.
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