We investigated the effect of dopamine on the in vivo expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the striatum of mouse. BDNF mRNA expression in the striation, which was Quantified with the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, was up-repulated from 2 h after oral administration of levodopa, a precursor of dopamine. The increase was sustained for 16 h. Co-administrstion of haloperidol partially inhibited dopamine-induced BDNF enhancement. These data suggest that dopaminergic stimulation directly promotes the expression of BDNF in the striatum in vivo.
