Central dopamine receptors

Experimental results with various dopaminomimetic drugs, in particular ergot derivatives, imply the existence in the brain of various subgroups of dopamine (DA) receptors with differing properties. This review focuses on the prolactin cell and on different types of DA receptors in the nigro-striatal system. Some of the apparent complexity of central DA receptors may be due to the particular experimental approaches used (behavioural, biochemical, biophysical) which reveal different functional aspects of the action of DA. Central DA receptors are seen not as a static component of the brain, but their numbers may vary and the functional results of their stimulation may depend on regulatory factors.