(PD), the clinical literature remains equivocal. We, therefore, sought to address the relationship between insulin resistance and nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) in a preclinical animal model. High-fat feeding in rodents is an established model of insulin resistance, characterized by increased adiposity, systemic oxidative stress, and hyperglycemia. We subjected rats to a normal chow or high-fat diet for 5 wk before infusing 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial forebrain bundle. Our goal was to determine whether a high-fat diet and the resulting peripheral insulin resistance would exacerbate 6-OHDA-induced nigrostriatal DA depletion. Prior to 6-OHDA infusion, animals on the high-fat diet exhibited greater body weight, increased adiposity, and impaired glucose tolerance. Two weeks after 6-OHDA, locomotor activity was tested, and brain and muscle tissue was harvested. Locomotor activity did not differ between the groups nor did cholesterol levels or measures of muscle atrophy. High-fat-fed animals exhibited higher homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values and attenuated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in fast-twitch muscle, indicating decreased insulin sensitivity. Animals in the high-fat group also exhibited greater DA depletion in the substantia nigra and the striatum, which correlated with HOMA-IR and adiposity. Decreased phosphorylation of HSP27 and degradation of IB␣ in the substantia nigra indicate increased tissue oxidative stress. These findings support the hypothesis that a diet high in fat and the resulting insulin resistance may lower the threshold for developing PD, at least following DA-specific toxin exposure. dopamine; diabetes; substantia nigra; striatum; insulin resistance CLINICAL STUDIES SUGGEST A LINK between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Parkinson's disease (PD) (30,46), and between fat intake or adiposity and PD (1, 31, 34). Moreover, it was reported over 40 years ago that greater than 50% of PD patients exhibit abnormal glucose tolerance (4, 10) or diabetes (36). Despite this information, very little is known regarding the relationship of these diseases and the impact of comorbidity on their pathogenesis. By 2025, T2D is estimated to impact 300 million individuals (47), with the elderly at greatest risk (54), the population also at greatest risk for neurodegenerative diseases like PD. For these reasons, understanding the potential for T2D, obesity, high dietary fat intake, and insulin resistance to contribute to PD is critical. Although the exact cause of PD is unknown, various environmental factors such as aging, diet, and environmental toxin exposure have been implicated in contributing to its development (29, 34, 51). The idea that "multiple hits" play a role in PD degeneration is supported by the fact that 80% of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons must be lost for symptoms to appear (50). While diabetes and PD do not invariably coincide, several studies suggest that obesity may potentiate neuronal dysfunction or even neurodegeneration (reviewed in Ref. 11). High-f...