Using a combination of radioactive and non-radioactive in situ hybridization, the mu opioid receptor mRNA was localized in enkephalin as well as dynorphin neurones of the rat striatum. The proportion of enkephalin neurones showing co-localized mu opioid receptor mRNA was dependent on the rostrocaudal level (17-39% in rostral/intermediate levels vs 0.4-5% caudally) but did not differ between striatal subregions. For dynorphin neurones the reverse was true, with consistently higher levels of co-localization in the caudate-putamen (56-77%) than the nucleus accumbens (15-43%), but no differences along the rostrocaudal axis. Furthermore, the degree of enkephalin/mu co-localization was significantly lower than that of dynorphin/mu. These results suggest a fine-grained topological differentiation of mu receptor modulation of striatal opioid systems.