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Multiculturalism and Social Work | San Francisco State University

Sex differences in extrastriatal dopamine D-sub-2-like receptors in the human brain.

Author: Kaasinen,-Valtteri; Nagren,-Kjell; Hietala,-Jarmo; Farde,-Lars; Rinne,-Juha-O
Author Background: U Turku, Dept of Neurology, Turku, Finland
Date 2/2001
Type Journal
Journal Title: American-Journal-of-Psychiatry
Volume/Pages Vol 158(2): 308-311
Publisher
Subject Matter Research, Gender, Brain; Dopamine; Human Sex Differences; Neural Receptors
Population
Pedagogies
Abstract Examined gender differences in extrastriatal dopamine D-sub-2-like receptor levels in the human brain in vivo. A high-affinity radioligand for extrastriatal D-sub-2-like receptors and a 3-dimensional positron emission tomography system were used to measure D-sub-2-like receptor binding potentials in frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and thalamus in 24 healthy men and women (aged 33-74 yrs). Women had higher D-sub-2-like receptor binding potentials than men in the 3 brain regions studied, and the difference in the frontal cortex was statistically significant. In a more detailed regional analysis, the difference between the sexes was most pronounced for the left and right anterior cingulate cortex. This study provides in vivo evidence for a gender difference in dopamine D-sub-2-like receptor levels, which could be reflected in gender-associated differences in clinical disorders linked to the dopamine system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2000 APA, all rights reserved)
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