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We report the case of a 74-year-old patient, whose spontaneous speech was characterized by the compulsive repetition of parts of words, words and sentences with increasing rate and decreasing loudness. On a standardized language examination, his performance was within normal limits, besides the presence of palilalia; neurological examination showed a slight limitation of vertical gaze and a reduction of blinking. A small right capsulo-thalamic ischemic lesion was present on magnetic resonance imaging. This case provides further evidence that palilalia can be observed as an isolated impairment of speech production following subcortical lesions., (1997 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.)

Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction technique was used to determine the levels of the mRNAs encoding different receptors belonging to the D2 family in various brain areas of 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old rats. We found a progressive, age-dependent reduction in the mRNA levels of D2 short and D2 long receptors in corpus striatum, substantia nigra, and frontal cortex. D2 short and D2 long receptor mRNA levels were unchanged in hippocampus and olfactory tubercle, while they increased in pituitary. D3 receptor mRNA levels were reduced in olfactory tubercle and unchanged in striatum. D4 receptor mRNA levels were unmodified in pituitary gland. These data suggest that the molecular mechanisms responsible for regulating the pattern of expression of the various dopamine receptors are differentially regulated by aging.