SHORT COMMUNICATION Effects of age on dopamine D 2 receptor availability in striatal subdivisions: A high-resolution positron emission tomography study Jong-Hoon Kim a , Young-Don Son b , Hang-Keun Kim b , Sang-Yoon Lee b , Seo-Eun Cho a , Young-Bo Kim b , c , Zang-Hee Cho b , ⁎ a Department of Psychiatry, Gil Hospital, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea b Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea c Department of Neurosurgery, Gil Hospital, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea Received 19 January 2011; received in revised form 22 March 2011; accepted 24 March 2011 KEYWORDS Age; Dopamine; D 2 receptor; Striatal subdivisions; Positron emission tomography; Raclopride Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between age and dopamine D 2 receptor availability in striatal subdivisions of young and middle-aged healthy subjects using high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) with [ 11 C]raclopride to better characterize the nature of age-related decrements in striatal D 2 receptor availability. Twenty-four healthy volunteers completed 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and high-resolution [ 11 C]raclopride PET scans. The analyses using linear and exponential models revealed that age had a significant negative correlation with D 2 receptor availability in the post-commissural putamen (postPU) and that D 2 receptor binding in the postPU decreased significantly more with age than in the ventral striatum, suggesting subregional differences in age-related changes in D 2 receptor binding. The postPU, which belongs to the sensorimotor striatum, may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of age in young and middle-aged subjects. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The brain dopamine system, which plays a crucial role in motor and cognitive functions, has been reported to be vulnerable to the effects of aging (Volkow et al., 2000). Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated a significant decline in striatal dopamine D 2 receptor density with age (Severson et al., 1982; Rinne et al., 1990; Antonini et al., 1993; Wong et al., 1997; Volkow et al., 1998; Ichise ⁎ Corresponding author at: Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, 1198 Guwol-Dong, Namdong-Gu, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 32 460 2083; fax: +82 32 460 2081. E-mail address: zcho@gachon.ac.kr (Z.-H. Cho). 0924-977X/$ - see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2011.03.009 www.elsevier.com/locate/euroneuro European Neuropsychopharmacology (2011) 21, 885–891