Receptor alkylating agents: novel tools for the study of receptor function in the central nervous system of the rat.

1. The use of alkylating agents to investigate receptor function in the central nervous system is discussed. 2. Examples of strategies which can be used are illustrated by studies with the irreversible dopamine receptor blocker, N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ). 3. Recent work, in which EEDQ was injected into selected sites of the striatum and receptor loss assessed by quantitative autoradiography, is described to show how this approach can be used to elucidate dopamine receptor function in the striatum.