At their clinical doses, current antipsychotic agents share the property of both dopamine D(2) and D(3) receptor blockade. However, a major disadvantage of many current medications are the observed extrapyramidal side-effects (EPS), postulated to arise from D(2) receptor antagonism. Consequently, a selective dopamine D(3) receptor antagonist could offer an attractive antipsychotic therapy, devoid of the unwanted EPS. Using SAR information gained in two previously reported series of potent and selective D(3) receptor antagonists, as exemplified by the 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine 10 and the 2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindoline 11, a range of 7-sulfonyloxy- and 7-sulfonylbenzazepines has been prepared. Compounds of this type combined a high level of D(3) affinity and selectivity vs D(2) with an excellent pharmacokinetic profile in the rat. Subsequent optimization of this series to improve selectivity over a range of receptors and reduce cytochrome P450 inhibitory potential gave trans-3-(2-(4-((3-(3-(5-methyl-1,2,4-oxidiazolyl))phenyl)carboxamido)cyclohexyl)ethyl)-7-methylsulfonyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine (58, SB-414796). This compound is a potent and selective dopamine D(3) receptor antagonist with high oral bioavailability and is CNS penetrant in the rat. Subsequent evaluation in the rat has shown that 58 preferentially reduces firing of dopaminergic cells in the ventral tegmental area (A10) compared to the substantia nigra (A9), an observation consistent with a prediction for atypical antipsychotic efficacy. In a separate study, 58 has been shown to block expression of the conditioned place preference (CPP) response to cocaine in male rats, suggesting that it may also have a role in the treatment of cue-induced relapse in drug-free cocaine addicts.