Dopamine Receptor D3 (DRD3)

D3 dopamine receptor inhibits adenylyl cyclase through inhibitory G-proteins. This receptor is expressed in phylogenetically older regions of the brain, suggesting that this receptor plays a role in cognitive and emotional functions. It is a target for drugs which treat schizophrenia, drug addiction, and Parkinson's disease. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants that would encode different isoforms, although some variants may be subject to nonsense-mediated decay .Numerous non-selective prescription drugs bind to the D₃ receptor, notably including some of the newer dopamine agonists used for Parkinson's disease such as pramipexole and ropinirole, but these also bind to D₂ and lack the strong receptor type and subtype selectivity that some of the following research compounds afford.