Dopamine D2 receptor binding, Drd2 expression and the number of dopamine neurons in the BXD recombinant inbred series: genetic relationships to alcohol and other drug associated phenotypes.

Background: It has not been established to what extent the natural variation in dopamine systems contribute to the variation in ethanol response. The current study addresses this issue by measuring D2 dopamine (DA) receptor binding, the expression of Drd2, the number of midbrain DA neurons in the BXD recombinant inbred (RI) series and then compares these strain means with those previously reported for a variety of ethanol and other drug-related phenotypes.

Methods: Data were collected for 21 to 23 of the BXD RI strains and the parental strains.