Dyskinesia induced by a dopamine 2 receptor-like agonist, but not a dopamine 1 receptor-like agonist, is blocked by sub-anesthetic ketamine

Sub-anesthetic ketamine significantly suppresses quinpirole-induced total AIMs in L-DOPA-primed male Sprague Dawley rats, with reductions persisting through D4 and D7.

• Why it matters: L-DOPA treatment often leads to L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia, and prior findings suggest ketamine can reduce it, but the receptor-specific dyskinesia drivers were unclear.
• What they did: Rats were primed with daily L-DOPA, then challenged with quinpirole (D2R-like) or SKF-81297 (D1R-like) and treated with agonist plus ketamine or vehicle; AIMs were scored on D0, D4, and D7.
• The result: Ketamine reduced only quinpirole-induced, not SKF-81297-induced, total AIMs on D0 and after washout on D4 and D7, implying D2R-like or indirect pathway-related mechanisms.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.