Neurotensin has been suggested to be involved in neurological and mental disorders associated with altered dopaminergic transmission. The lack of a potent neurotensin receptor antagonist had prevented us from studying the real physiological implication of this peptide in brain function. We thus recently developed such a non-peptide neurotensin receptor antagonist, SR 48692, (2-(1-(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl)-5-(2,6-dimethoxyphenyl)-1H-pyrazole- 3-carbonyl)amino)-adamantane-2-carboxylic acid), which appeared to be potent in various central and peripheral preparations. In the present study, we tested the pharmacological properties of SR 48692 and of two optically synthetic analogs of this compound on neurotensin binding to both adult guinea-pig brain membrane homogenates and coronal brain sections, as well as on neurotensin stimulation of the K(+)-evoked release of [3H]dopamine in guinea-pig striatal slices. Our results demonstrated that (1) high-affinity neurotensin binding sites are present in the guinea-pig brain in regions rich in both dopamine cell bodies and terminals; (2) the binding of neurotensin is inhibited by SR 48692 and its related S(+) active analog, SR 48527, with IC50 values in the nM range and (3) the non-peptide antagonist has no agonist effect but antagonizes neurotensin-induced [3H]dopamine release from guinea-pig striatal nerve terminals.