Abstract
The available evidence for the existence of a dopaminergic innervation of the rat and human hippocampal formation is reviewed. The presence of dopaminergic terminals in the rat hippocampal formation has been suggested by: 1) histofluorescence studies and 2) biochemical data showing that chemical destruction of the ascending noradrenergic pathways which deplete hippocampal noradrenaline almost completely fails to affect hippocampal dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and dopamine levels. Moreover, in vivo binding studies as well as the similarity of the changes in dopamine metabolism caused by dopamine receptor agonists or neuroleptics in hippocampus and other dopamine-rich brain areas support the existence of dopamine-sensitive recep tor sites in the rat hippocampal formation. Lesion studies indicate that the dopaminergic afferents to the rat hippocampal formation originate from the dopaminergic cell groups located in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra and enter the hippocampal formation mainly via the dorsal route. Finally, the presence of substantial amounts of dopamine and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in normal human postmortem hippocampus and the decrease in the levels of these catechols in parkinsonian patients is consistent with the existence of a dopaminergic innervation of the human hippocampal formation originating from the midbrain.
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