In their article on the relationship between glutamate, dopamine, and cortical gray matter volume, Rogeau et al. [1] report an inverse relationship between gray matter volumetric measures in the left inferior frontal gyrus and amphetamine-induced dopamine release in the striatum. Dopamine release was estimated on the basis of changes in binding of the positron emission tomography (PET) dopamine D_2/3 receptor agonist radioligand [¹¹C]-(+)-PHNO [2] after administration of amphetamine or placebo capsules. Binding of [¹¹C]-(+)-PHNO is sensitive towards pharmacological challenges affecting dopamine release and provides a semi-quantitative index of changes in extracellular dopamine levels [3, 4].

In good agreement with previous studies in rodents [5] and humans [6], the findings of Rogeau et al. provide support for a major role of the prefrontal cortex in regulating dopamine signaling in the striatum. However, Rogeau et al. did not observe any relationship between frontal cortex volumetric parameters and dopamine signaling in the substantia nigra or ventral tegmental area. These midbrain nuclei form the main origin of dopaminergic innervation in the brain and are known to form a crucial relay station in frontal cortex-dopamine interactions [5]. The question thus arises: Why did these regions fail to show up in the Rogeau et al. data?

Rogeau 等人在他们关于谷氨酸、多巴胺和皮质灰质体积之间关系的文章中。 [1] 报告左额下回灰质体积测量与安非他明诱导的纹状体多巴胺释放之间存在反比关系。多巴胺释放是根据给予安非他明或安慰剂胶囊后正电子发射断层扫描 (PET) 多巴胺 D _2/3受体激动剂放射性配体 [ ¹¹ C]-(+)-PHNO [2]的结合变化来估计的。 [ ¹¹ C]-(+)-PHNO 的结合对影响多巴胺释放的药理学挑战敏感，并提供细胞外多巴胺水平变化的半定量指标 [3, 4]。

Rogeau 等人的研究结果与先前对啮齿动物 [5] 和人类 [6] 的研究结果非常一致。为前额皮质在调节纹状体多巴胺信号传导中的主要作用提供支持。然而，罗杰等人。没有观察到额叶皮层体积参数与黑质或腹侧被盖区多巴胺信号传导之间的任何关系。这些中脑核团形成大脑中多巴胺能神经支配的主要起源，并且已知在额叶皮层-多巴胺相互作用中形成重要的中继站[5]。因此，问题出现了：为什么这些区域没有出现在 Rogeau 等人的研究中。数据？