Dopamine Type 2/3 Receptor Availability in the Striatum and Social Status in Human Volunteers

Martinez, Diana; Orlowska, Daria; Narendran, Rajesh; Slifstein, Mark; Liu, Fei; Kumar, Dileep; Broft, Allegra; Van Heertum, Ronald; Kleber, Herbert D.

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.07.037

« Previous Next »Biological Psychiatry
Volume 67, Issue 3 , Pages 275-278, 1 February 2010

Dopamine Type 2/3 Receptor Availability in the Striatum and Social Status in Human Volunteers

Diana Martinez
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
- Address correspondence to Diana Martinez, M.D., New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Box #31, New York, NY 10032
Daria Orlowska
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Rajesh Narendran
- Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mark Slifstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Fei Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Dileep Kumar
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Allegra Broft
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Ronald Van Heertum
- Department of Radiology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Herbert D. Kleber
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York

Received 18 December 2008; received in revised form 23 July 2009; accepted 28 July 2009. published online 07 October 2009.

Background

Previous positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies in nonhuman primates have shown that striatal dopamine type 2/3 (D_2/3) receptors correlate with social hierarchy in monkeys and that dominant animals exhibit higher levels of D_2/3 receptor binding. The goal of the present study was to examine this phenomena in human subjects using PET and the radiotracer [¹¹C]raclopride.

Methods

Fourteen healthy volunteers were scanned with [¹¹C]raclopride to measure D_2/3 receptor binding potential (BP). Social status was assessed using the Barratt Simplified Measure of Social Status. In addition, participants were asked to assess their level of social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS).

Results

A correlation was seen between social status and dopamine D_2/3 receptors, where volunteers with the higher status had higher values for [¹¹C]raclopride BP. A similar correlation was seen with the perceived social support, where higher [¹¹C]raclopride BP correlated with higher scores on the MSPSS.