Allopregnanolone Is Required for Prepulse Inhibition Deficits Induced by D1 Dopamine Receptor Activation
June 2019
in “
Psychoneuroendocrinology
”
TLDR Allopregnanolone is needed for certain brain processing issues caused by D1 dopamine receptor activation.
The study demonstrated that the enzyme 5α-reductase type 1 (5αR1) was necessary for the prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits induced by D1 dopamine receptor activation in mice. Knockout mice lacking 5αR1 were resistant to these deficits, which were restored by administering allopregnanolone (AP), but not other 5α-reduced steroids. The PPI-disrupting effects of the D1 receptor agonist were not influenced by GABA-A or PXR receptors, indicating that 5αR1 facilitates the negative impact of D1 receptor activation on information processing through the production of AP, independent of these receptors.