These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Alcohol dependence is associated with blunted dopamine transmission in the ventral striatum.
    Author: Martinez D, Gil R, Slifstein M, Hwang DR, Huang Y, Perez A, Kegeles L, Talbot P, Evans S, Krystal J, Laruelle M, Abi-Dargham A.
    Journal: Biol Psychiatry; 2005 Nov 15; 58(10):779-86. PubMed ID: 16018986.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: A decrease in dopamine type 2 receptors (D2) and mesolimbic dopamine transmission predisposes animals to consume alcohol. This study measured D2 receptors and dopamine transmission in human alcohol-dependent (AD) subjects using positron emission tomography (PET) and [11C]raclopride. METHODS: Fifteen AD and 15 healthy control (HC) subjects were scanned before and after a psychostimulant challenge (amphetamine .3 mg/kg intravenous). The outcome measures for baseline D2 receptor availability were binding potential (BP) and the equilibrium partition coefficient (V3''). Amphetamine-induced [11C]raclopride displacement was measured as the difference in V3'' between the two scans. RESULTS: [11C]raclopride BP was significantly reduced by 16.6% in the limbic striatum, 19.2% in the associative striatum, and 21.3% in the sensorimotor striatum in AD subjects compared with HC. The alcohol-dependent subjects showed a blunting of amphetamine-induced dopamine release in the limbic striatum: [11C]raclopride displacement was -5.2% +/- 3.6% in AD subjects compared with -13.0% +/- 8.8% in HC. However, no significant difference in [11C]raclopride displacement was seen in the associative (-4.6% +/- 5.8% in AD subjects vs. -6.7 +/- 5.4% in HC) and sensorimotor (-12.3% +/- 7.3% in AD subjects vs. -13.7 +/- 7.5% in HC) subdivisions of the striatum between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol dependence was associated with a decrease in D2 receptors in each striatal subdivision, whereas amphetamine-induced dopamine release was reduced in the limbic striatum only.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]