Dopaminergic signaling is critical to neural function. Disorders in dopaminergic signaling have been implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders, including drug abuse and dependence. Membrane trafficking of dopamine receptors controls the number of receptors on the cell surface that are able to bind ligand and thus mediates events important for the regulation of cell signaling. Elucidating mechanisms of dopamine receptor membrane trafficking is fundamental to understanding how dopamine exerts its actions on the brain. The proposed studies will examine membrane trafficking of the two cloned D1-like receptor subtypes (D1 and D5) in an established non-neural model and in physiologically relevant CNS neurons.
