What does the research say about striatal dopamine?

Striatal dopamine

There are 11 papers on striatal dopamine in aging research: 1 observational study in people, 10 in animals. The newest story, Nov 11, 2026: “Dopamine availability peaked in adulthood in primates and rodents”.

Biomarker

11 papers study it60 more mention it7 findings

3 new papers in 30 daysSee all 71 papers on striatal dopamine

“[11C]DTBZ in the limbic striatum, but not other subregions, was positively associated with greater ATPmax in vivo”

Striatal Dopamine and Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism in Older AdultsmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2025doi:10.1101/2025.06.12.25329490

Humans1
Animals10

Interventions

Levodopa + carbidopa + canagliflozin

upin mice1

1 study

Levodopa + carbidopa + canagliflozin increases striatal dopamine in mice (rotenone-induced parkinsonism).
“The combination of levodopa/carbidopa and canagliflozin significantly mitigated the changes induced by rotenone administration regarding the behavioral tests, striatal dopamine”
Animalsrotenone-induced parkinsonismstriatum
Targeting the Sirtuin-1/PPAR-Gamma Axis, RAGE/HMGB1/NF-κB Signaling, and the Mitochondrial Functions by Canagliflozin Augments the Protective Effects of Levodopa/Carbidopa in Rotenone-Induced Parkinson's Disease
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)Oct 14, 2024

More on Levodopa + carbidopa + canagliflozin

Chemically induced neuron transplantation

upin mice1

1 study

Chemically induced neuron transplantation increases striatal dopamine in mice (Parkinson's disease mice).
“CiNs treatment significantly increased the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells and the concentration of dopamine in the striatum”
AnimalsParkinson's disease micestriatum
Direct conversion of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into dopaminergic neurons for Parkinson's disease treatment
Neurobiology of diseaseSep 27, 2024

More on Chemically induced neuron transplantation

Upstream

Age

downin mice1no changein rats1

2 studies

Age showed no clear effect on striatal dopamine in Pink1 knockout rats.
“which decreased therein, but not striatum, in the aged KO rats”
Animalsin Pink1 knockout ratsstriatummales
Aging hastens locomotor decline in PINK1 knockout rats in association with decreased nigral, but not striatal, dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase expression
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyFeb 4, 2024Preprint
age decreases striatal dopamine in aged mice.
“We observed a reduction in striatal dopamine levels in aged mice using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).”
Animalsin aged micestriatum
Aging-related motor function and dopaminergic neuronal loss in C57BL/6 mice
Molecular brainMar 23, 2020

Type 2 diabetes

no changein mice1

1 study

Type 2 diabetes showed no clear effect on striatal dopamine in mice (high-fat diet-induced T2D).
“Neither T2D (induced by 12 months of high-fat diet) nor aging (14 months) changed striatal dopamine content assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography.”
Animalshigh-fat diet-induced T2Dstriatum12 months
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and sulfonylureas prevent the progressive impairment of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system induced by diabetes during aging
Neurobiology of agingFeb 4, 2020

Associations

ATPmax

upin humans1

1 study

Striatal dopamine is associated with ATPmax in humans (β = 0.275, standard error 0.108, p=0.019).
“[11C]DTBZ in the limbic striatum, but not other subregions, was positively associated with greater ATPmax in vivo”
Humansskeletal musclen = 146
Striatal Dopamine and Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism in Older Adults
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesJun 12, 2025Preprint

Latest

11 papers in 12 months

MedicinaOct 26

Targeting the Sirtuin-1/PPAR-Gamma Axis, RAGE/HMGB1/NF-κB Signaling, and the Mitochondrial Functions by Canagliflozin Augments the Protective Effects of Levodopa/Carbidopa in Rotenone-Induced Parkinson's Disease

Experiments in miceCanagliflozin

Paper

Neurobiology of DiseaseSep 30

Direct conversion of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into dopaminergic neurons for Parkinson's disease treatment

Experiments in miceParkinson's disease

Paper

bioRxivFeb 14

Aging hastens locomotor decline in PINK1 knockout rats in association with decreased nigral, but not striatal, dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase expression

Preprint: experiments in ratsPINK1

Paper

The Journal of NeuroscienceOct 25

The Absence of Parkin Does Not Promote Dopamine or Mitochondrial Dysfunction in PolgAD257A/D257A Mitochondrial Mutator Mice

Experiments in miceOxidative phosphorylation

Paper

Amino AcidsNov 28

Taurine protects dopaminergic neurons in paraquat-induced Parkinson's disease mouse model through PI3K/Akt signaling pathways

Experiments in miceTaurine

Paper

bioRxivNov 11

Dopamine availability peaked in adulthood in primates and rodents

Lifespan measurements in primates and rodents also found age-dependent differences in how two signaling chemicals regulated dopamine release.Lifespan measurements in primates and rodents also found age-dependent differences in how two signaling chemicals regulated dopamine release.

Preprint: animal studyMechanisms

Paper

bioRxivNov 6

Brain chemistry and protein buildup linked to network changes

Brain scans linked dopamine production capacity and Alzheimer’s-related protein buildup to distinct patterns of network organization in young and cognitively unimpaired…Brain scans linked dopamine production capacity and Alzheimer’s-related protein buildup to distinct patterns of network organization in young and cognitively unimpaired older adults.

Preprint: cross-sectional studyMechanisms