Age-related regional loss of caudate-putamen dopamine receptors revealed by quantitative autoradiography

• Published in: Brain research Vol. 378; no. 1; p. 158
• Main Authors: Joyce, J N, Loeschen, S K, Sapp, D W, Marshall, J F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 16-07-1986
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Autoradiography; Caudate Nucleus - metabolism; Kinetics; Putamen - metabolism; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Receptors, Dopamine - metabolism; Receptors, Dopamine D2
• ISSN: 0006-8993
• DOI: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)90298-2

Senescent (26-28 months) Fischer 344 rats were shown to have a lower density of D2 sites (-36%) without any change in affinity in membranes prepared from homogenized caudate-putamen (CPU), as compared to young adult (5-6 months) rats. In additional rats prepared for quantitative autoradiography of [3H]spiroperidol binding, the loss was shown to be specific for and quite extensive (50-60%) in the lateral to ventrolateral region of the CPU. The region of the CPU that shows the major age-related loss of D2 sites is critically involved in sensorimotor functions; therefore this regional loss of D2 sites may contribute importantly to the sensorimotor deficits in aged rats.