Implication of dopamine D3 receptor activation in the reversion of Parkinson's disease-related motivational deficits

In addition to the classical motor symptoms, motivational and affective deficits are core impairments of Parkinson's disease (PD). We recently demonstrated, by lesional approaches in rats, that degeneration of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic (DA) neurons is likely to have a crucial role in the development of these neuropsychiatry symptoms. We have also shown that, as in clinical investigations, chronic treatment with levodopa or the DA D2/D3 receptor (D(2)/D(3)R) agonist ropinirole specifically reverses these PD-related motivational deficits. The roles of specific DA receptor subtypes in such reversal effects remain, however, unknown. We therefore investigated here the precise involvement of D(1), D(2) and D(3)R in the reversal of the motivational and affective deficits related to SNc DA neuronal loss. Three weeks after bilateral and partial 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) SNc lesions, rats received 14 daily intraperitoneal administrations of the selective D1R agonist SKF-38393 (2.5 or 3.5 mg kg(−1)), the selective D2R agonist sumanirole (0.1 or 0.15 mg kg(−1)), or the preferring D3R gonist PD-128907 (0.1 or 0.15 mg kg(−1)). Anxiety-, depressive-like and motivated behaviors were assessed in an elevated-plus maze, a forced-swim test, and an operant sucrose self-administration procedure, respectively. All DA agonists attenuated anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. However, only PD-128907 reversed the motivational deficits induced by 6-OHDA SNc lesions. This effect was blocked by a selective D(3)R (SB-277011A, 10 mg kg(−1)), but not D(2)R (L-741,626, 1.5 mg kg(−1)), antagonist. These data provide strong evidence for the role of D3R in motivational processes and identify this receptor as a potentially valuable target for the treatment of PD-related neuropsychiatric symptoms.