• Raúl de la Fuente-Fernández, Anthony G Phillips, Mariangela Zamburlini, Vesna Sossi, Donald B Calne, Thomas J Ruth, and A Jon Stoessl.
• Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre, Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Center, University of British Columbia, Purdy Pavilion, 2221 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 2B5.
• Behav. Brain Res. 2002 Nov 15; 136 (2): 359-63.

AbstractUsing the ability of [11C]raclopride to compete with dopamine for D(2)/D(3) receptors, we investigated by positron emission tomography the effect of placebo (saline) injection on dopamine release in the ventral striatum of patients with Parkinson's disease. We found evidence for placebo-induced dopamine release of similar magnitude to that reported in healthy volunteers after amphetamine administration. However, in contrast to the dorsal striatum, there were no differences in [11C]raclopride binding potential changes between patients who experienced the reward (those who reported placebo-induced clinical benefit) and those who did not. We conclude that the release of dopamine in the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens) is related to the expectation of reward and not to the reward itself. These observations have potential implications for the treatment of drug addiction.Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

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