Cellular Actions of Dopamine

The neostriatum is the gateway of the basal ganglia, a group of brain nuclei that control a wide variety of psychomotor behaviors. Most of the functions of the neostriatum are dependent upon its rich dopaminergic innervation that originates in the ventral mesencephalon. For example, the loss of this dopaminergic innervation results in Parkinson’s disease (Albin et al. 1989; Wooten 1990). Disordered dopaminergic signaling in the neostriatum is also thought to be a critical determinant of several other common neuropsychiatric disorders including Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, and drug addiction (Nemeroff and Bissette 1988; Erenberg 1992; Koob and Nestler 1997; Wise 1998).