Synaptic distribution of dopaminergic inputs to the prefrontal cortex related to working memory

本研究利用激光共聚焦显微镜观察多巴胺受体D5（D5R）在大鼠前额叶皮层的免疫标记结构，以确定D5R在前额叶皮层的精确定位。结果发现，几乎所有的神经元，无论是兴奋性还是抑制性神经元，都含有D5R，并且D5R在细胞内的分布模式在它们之间有明显的不同。这些结果强烈地表明，D5R的差异分布模式可能是由前额叶皮层所介导的多巴胺能认知功能调节的基础。

In this study, to identify the precise localization of dopamine receptor D5 (D5R) in the rat prefrontal cortex, we observed the D5R-immunolabeled structures by confocal laser microscopy. As a result, we found that nearly all neurons, both excitatory and inhibitory neurons, contained D5R, and that the intracellular distribution pattern of D5R is markedly different between them. These findings strongly suggested that the differential distribution pattern of D5R may underlie dopaminergic modulation of cognitive functions subserved by the prefrontal cortex.