Two types of quisqualate receptors are decreased in human olivopontocerebellar atrophy cerebellar cortex.

We used receptor autoradiography to study the distribution of ionotropic and metabotropic quisqualate (QA) receptors in normal human cerebellar cortex and cerebellar cortex from 7 cases of olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA). In normal human cerebellar cortex, both types of QA receptors were densest in the molecular layer. Both ionotropic and metabotropic QA receptors were significantly diminished in the molecular layer of OPCA specimens. These results suggest that both ionotropic and metabotropic QA receptors are localized on Purkinje cell dendrites.