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Updated: May 7, 2026
05:14
Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
Published on: September 8, 2021
Midbrain dopamine function in schizophrenia and depression: a post-mortem and positron emission tomographic imaging
Oliver D Howes1, Matthew Williams, Kemal Ibrahim
11 King's College London, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK.
Brain : a Journal of Neurology
|October 8, 2013
Summary
Dopamine synthesis capacity is elevated in both the substantia nigra and striatum in schizophrenia patients, not just terminals. This elevation in dopamine production is linked to symptom severity in individuals with schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Presynaptic striatal dopamine activity is elevated in schizophrenia.
- Dopaminergic dysfunction in schizophrenia may extend beyond striatal terminals to neuron cell bodies in the substantia nigra.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate dopamine synthesis capacity in the substantia nigra of individuals with schizophrenia.
- To determine the relationship between nigral dopamine synthesis and schizophrenia symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Post-mortem analysis of tyrosine hydroxylase staining in substantia nigra neurons.
- In vivo positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using (18)F-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine ((18)F-DOPA) to measure nigral and striatal dopaminergic function.
Main Results:
- Tyrosine hydroxylase staining was significantly increased in the substantia nigra of schizophrenia patients compared to controls and major depressive disorder patients.
- (18)F-DOPA uptake was elevated in both the substantia nigra and striatum of schizophrenia patients.
- Nigral (18)F-DOPA uptake positively correlated with symptom severity in schizophrenia patients.
Conclusions:
- Dopamine synthesis capacity is elevated in the substantia nigra, the origin of dopamine neurons, as well as in their striatal terminals in schizophrenia.
- The findings suggest a more widespread dopaminergic dysfunction in schizophrenia than previously understood.
- Elevated nigral dopamine synthesis is associated with symptom severity in schizophrenia.
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