The involvement of mesostriatal dopaminergic neurons in cognitive operations is not well understood, and needs to be further clarified. The use of latent inhibition paradigms is a means of investigating cognitive processes. In this study, we investigated the involvement in latent inhibition of dopaminergic inputs in the anterior part and posterior part of the dorsal striatum. The latent inhibition phenomenon was observed in a conditioned olfactory aversion paradigm. Changes in extracellular dopamine levels induced by the conditioned olfactory stimulus (banana odor) were monitored in the two parts of the dorsal striatum in the left hemisphere after pre-exposure to the olfactory stimulus using in vivo voltammetry in freely moving rats. During the conditioning session animals received either an i.p. injection of NaCl (0.9%) (control groups) or an i.p. injection of LiCl (0.15 M) (conditioned groups). Dopamine variations and place preference or aversion toward the stimulus were analyzed simultaneously in pre-exposed and non-pre-exposed animals. Data collected during the retention (test) session were as follows. Where the anterior part of the striatum was concerned, similar enhancements in dopamine levels (+100%) were obtained in pre-exposed and non-pre-exposed control animals, as well as in the pre-exposed experimental animals. In contrast, dopamine levels in the non-pre-exposed experimental group (conditioned animals) remained fairly consistently close to the baseline after the presentation of the olfactory stimulus. Where the posterior part of the striatum was concerned, increases in extracellular dopamine levels were similar (+50%) for the different groups. The present results suggested that dopaminergic neurons reaching the anterior part of the dorsal striatum are implicated in the latent inhibition phenomenon and affective perception, whereas dopaminergic terminals in the posterior part of the dorsal striatum appeared to be involved neither in latent inhibition nor in affective perception of the stimulus, seeming only to be affected by the intrinsic properties of the stimulus. Cognitive as well as affective deficits have been reported in patients with schizophrenia. Thus the present data may be considered in the context of the pathophysiology of schizophrenic psychoses.