Visualization of dopamine D3-like receptors in human brain with [125I]epidepride.

In sections of human brain containing the striatum (caudate, nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens) the competition for binding of [125I]epidepride by compounds with differing selectivity for dopamine D2 and D3 receptors was examined. Domperidone showed higher affinity for D2-like than D3-like sites whereas 7-OH-DPAT (7-hydroxy-2-(N,N-di-n-propylamino)tetralin) and quinpirole demonstrated the reverse selectivity. The pattern of [125I]epidepride binding in the presence of a high concentration of domperidone was negligible in the dorsal striatum but indicated islands of dense binding to D3-like receptors in the nucleus accumbens and ventral putamen.