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Regulation of polysynaptic subthalamonigral transmission by D 2 , D 3 and D 4 dopamine receptors in rat brain slices
Author(s) -
Shen KeZhong,
Johnson Steven W.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.225672
Subject(s) - dopamine , excitatory postsynaptic potential , neuroscience , postsynaptic potential , chemistry , stimulation , neurotransmission , dopamine receptor , sulpiride , bursting , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , receptor , biology , dopaminergic , biochemistry
Key points • Symptoms of Parkinson's disease are associated with increased bursting activity in the subthalamic nucleus and substantia nigra zona reticulata (SNR). • In slices of rat brain, a single electrical stimulus to the STN evokes a complex EPSC and bursts of action potentials in SNR neurons. • We show that dopamine acts at D 2 ‐like receptors to cause marked and reversible inhibition of the complex EPSC. • Dopamine also inhibited stimulus‐evoked bursts of action potentials more than reducing spontaneous firing. • Inhibition of synaptically generated burst firing by D 2 receptor agonists may be a clinically important mechanism in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.