D1 and D2 dopamine receptor modulation of sodium and potassium currents in rat neostriatal neurons.

The potassium and sodium currents in acutely isolated neostriatal neurons are modulated by activation of both D1- and D2-class receptors. The amplification of mRNA in individual neurons supports this conclusion and has shown that striatonigral neurons express not only D1 and D2 receptors, but D3 receptors as well. The characteristics of the modulations produced by these receptors provide a foundation for both antagonistic and synergistic actions of D1 and D2 agonists in the neostriatum. Understanding precisely how these modulations interact in shaping excitability, however, will require a better characterization of spatial domains in which they operate.