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Dynamic neurotransmitter interactions measured with PET [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Energy Research, 2001.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
42 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Brookhaven National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Research, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
Positron emission tomography (PET) has become a valuable interdisciplinary tool for understanding physiological, biochemical and pharmacological functions at a molecular level in living humans, whether in a healthy or diseased state. The utility of tracing chemical activity through the body transcends the fields of cardiology, oncology, neurology and psychiatry. In this, PET techniques span radiochemistry and radiopharmaceutical development to instrumentation, image analysis, anatomy and modeling. PET has made substantial contributions in each of these fields by providing a,venue for mapping dynamic functions of healthy and unhealthy human anatomy. As diverse as the disciplines it bridges, PET has provided insight into an equally significant variety of psychiatric disorders. Using the unique quantitative ability of PET, researchers are now better able to non-invasively characterize normally occurring neurotransmitter interactions in the brain. With the knowledge that these interactions provide the fundamental basis for brain response, many investigators have recently focused their efforts on an examination of the communication between these chemicals in both healthy volunteers and individuals suffering from diseases classically defined as neurotransmitter specific in nature. In addition, PET can measure the biochemical dynamics of acute and sustained drug abuse. Thus, PET studies of neurotransmitter interactions enable investigators to describe a multitude of specific functional interactions in the human brain. This information can then be applied to understanding side effects that occur in response to acute and chronic drug therapy, and to designing new drugs that target multiple systems as opposed to single receptor types. Knowledge derived from PET studies can be applied to drug discovery, research and development (for review, see (Fowler et al., 1999) and (Burns et al., 1999)). Here, we will cover the most substantial contributions of PET to understanding biologically distinct neurochemical systems that interact to produce a variety of behaviors and disorders. Neurotransmitters are neither static nor isolated in their distribution. In fact, it is through interactions with other neurochemically distinct systems that the central nervous system (CNS) performs its vital role in sustaining life. Exclusive quantitative capabilities intrinsic to PET make this technology a suitable experimental tool to measure not only the regional distribution of specific receptors and their subtypes, but also the dynamic properties of neuroreceptors and their inherent influence on related neurotransmitter pathways. The ability to investigate dynamic properties in a non-invasive and reproducible manner provides a powerful tool that can extend our current knowledge of these interactions. Coupled with innovative paradigms including pharmacologic manipulations, physiologic models and reconstruction theories, knowledge derived from PET studies can greatly advance our understanding of normal and abnormal brain function.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:bnl--68187
E 1.99: kp140102
kp140102
bnl--68187
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Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
04/02/2001.
"bnl--68187"
" kp140102"
"KP140102"
Dewey, S.L.; Schiffer, W.K.
Funding Information
AC02-98CH10886
CO11
View MARC record | catkey: 14794615