Resistance to barbiturate is changed by developmental alteration of dopamine receptor sensitivity.

Adult rats whose dopamine receptor number was reduced via prenatal haloperidol exposure were less resistant than controls to pentobarbital narcosis. This altered resistance was functional (CNS) and not metabolic, as shown by pentobarbital brain levels. These results are consistent with our previous experiments, indicating that changes in the number of dopamine receptors may underlie relative susceptibility to barbiturates.