ABSTRACT
The most useful classification of dopamine receptors was suggested by Kebabian and CaIne in 1979. This classification is based primarily on the biochemical characteristics of dopamine receptors, such as, ligand binding and adenylate cyclase activity. The most studied biochemical property of the receptor is the ability of dopamine to either activate (Kebabian et aI., 1972; Brown & Makman, 1972) or inhibit (Onali et aI., 1985; Weiss et aI., 1985; Stoof & Kebabian, 1981) adenylate cyclase activity. In 1979, there were few selective dopaminergic drugs; thus, it was difficult to assess the functional role of the receptors in the whole animal. There are now a variety of selective dopaminergic receptor agonist and antagonists (Table 1) that can be used to evaluate dopaminergic receptor function. In this presentation we will attempt to correlate function with receptor classification. We have not attempted to relate responsiveness to autoreceptors or postsynaptic receptors as the origin in the central nervous system of most functional responses is controversial or unknown.
