Effects of excitatory amino acids on dopamine synthesis in the rat retina.

Intraocular administration of quisqualate but not of N-methyl-D-aspartate or kainate augments dopamine synthesis in the retinas of dark-maintained rats. The effect of quisqualate is dosage-dependent but not blocked by the glutamate antagonist, glutamate diethyl ester. These results are the first to show that the quiescent dopamine neurons of the dark-adapted rat retina can be activated by an excitatory amino acid analogue of the putative endogenous neurotransmitter, glutamate.