We compared hypolocomotion and catalepsy mediated by striatal dopamine D 2 and adenosine A 2A receptors using microinfusions of the adenosine A 2A receptor agonist 2- p-(2-carboxyethyl) phenethylamino-5′- N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine hydrochloride (CGS21680) and the dopamine D 2 receptor antagonist raclopride into the nucleus accumbens and the caudate-putamen. The effective doses (ED 25/50) of CGS21680 and raclopride which produced equivalent reductions of spontaneous locomotion after microinfusion into the nucleus accumbens were found to induce similar degrees of catalepsy after microinfusion into the caudate-putamen. This comparable, little separation of the effective doses of a dopamine D 2 receptor antagonist and an adenosine A 2A receptor agonist to produce locomotor inhibition and catalepsy support the idea that adenosine A 2A receptor agonists as potential antipsychotic agents may have a similiar therapeutic profile as dopamine D 2 receptor antagonists. © Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.