Taurine interferes with spiperone binding in the striatum.

The effects of taurine and its structural analogues and two new anticonvulsant derivatives, taltrimide and MY-103, on the function of brain dopaminergic systems were studied by assessing their interference with the binding of [3H]spiperone to synaptic membranes isolated from rat striata. Two populations of binding sites were detected. The binding was effectively displaced by (+)butaclamol and dopamine, serotonin being less potent by one order of magnitude. Taurine, taltrimide and MY-103 inhibited spiperone binding moderately. The binding constants of both high- and low-affinity components and the maximal binding capacity of the low-affinity component decreased in the presence of taurine. The results show that taurine and its novel anticonvulsant derivates could modulate the function of striatal dopaminergic systems.