Abstract
A goal of this chapter is to examine the functional impact of catecholaminergic systems on central nervous system (CNS) function as it relates to normal and pathological states. The topics presented in the chapter generally can be divided along two foci: the anatomy, pharmacology, and molecular regulation of catecholamines in the normal brain; and how these relationships may be altered in disease states. One focus of recent research efforts delves into the anatomy and pharmacology of neuronal interactions within the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This interest has been driven by recent studies implicating the PFC as an important limbic component related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In study of the anatomy of dopamine input to the frontal cortex, the distribution of dopamine in the frontal cortex is found to be dependent on the region of the cortex examined, that dopamine is selectively distributed within different laminae of different frontal cortical regions, and moreover that this innervation exhibits distinct maturational modifications throughout development. Thus, dopamine innervation is densest in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, particularly within the superficial and deep layers; in contrast, in area 9, the innervation is trilaminar.