Cited by 254Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchSleep and Work-Related FatigueNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Evidence that sleep deprivation downregulates dopamine D2R in ventral striatum in the human brain

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Volkow, Nora D., Tomasi, Dardo, Wang, Gene-Jack, Telang, Frank, Fowler, Joanna S., Logan, Jean, Benveniste, Helene, Kim, Ron +2 more·2012·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Dopamine D2 receptors are involved with wakefulness, but their role in the decreased alertness associated with sleep deprivation is unclear. We had shown that sleep deprivation reduced dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability (measured with PET and [(11)C]raclopride in controls) in striatum, but could not determine whether this reflected dopamine increases ([(11)C]raclopride competes with dopamine for D2/D3 receptor binding) or receptor downregulation. To clarify this, we compared the dopamine increases induced by methylphenidate (a drug that increases dopamine by blocking dopamine transporters) during sleep deprivation versus rested sleep, with the assumption that methylphenidate's effects would be greater if, indeed, dopamine release was increased during sleep deprivation. We scanned 20 controls with [(11)C]raclopride after rested sleep and after 1 night of sleep deprivation; both after placebo and after methylphenidate. We corroborated a decrease in D2/D3 receptor availability in the ventral striatum with sleep deprivation (compared with rested sleep) that was associated with reduced alertness and increased sleepiness. However, the dopamine increases induced by methylphenidate (measured as decreases in D2/D3 receptor availability compared with placebo) did not differ between rested sleep and sleep deprivation, and were associated with the increased alertness and reduced sleepiness when methylphenidate was administered after sleep deprivation. Similar findings were obtained by microdialysis in rodents subjected to 1 night of paradoxical sleep deprivation. These findings are consistent with a downregulation of D2/D3 receptors in ventral striatum with sleep deprivation that may contribute to the associated decreased wakefulness and also corroborate an enhancement of D2 receptor signaling in the arousing effects of methylphenidate in humans.

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  1. Baldezarini RJ Goodman Gilman AG Rail TW Nies AS Taylor P 1990 Drugs and the treatment of psychiatric disorders In Goodman and Gilmans’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics 383 435 Pergamon Press New York

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Authors
Volkow, N. D., Tomasi, D., Wang, G.-J., Telang, F., Fowler, J. S., Logan, J., Benveniste, H., Kim, R., Thanos, P. K., & Ferré, S.
Affiliations
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (US)
  • Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (US)
  • Stony Brook University (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2012-05-09
Volume
32
Issue
19
Pages
6711-6717
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2020672544
Cited by
254
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 5
FWCI
6.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy (76CH00016, DE-AC01-76CH00016)
  • National Institutes of Health (DE-AC01-76CH00016)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (ZIAAA000550)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
sleep deprivation, dopamine D2/D3 receptors, receptor down-regulation, ventral striatum, methylphenidate, wakefulness, alertness, sleepiness, REM sleep deprivation, microdialysis, dopamine release
MeSH terms
Adult, Animals, Basal Ganglia, Brain, Humans, Male, Sleep Deprivation, Wakefulness, Down-Regulation, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Receptors, Dopamine D2, Receptors, Dopamine D3, Rats, Young Adult, Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists

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