The future of brain imaging in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with distinct abnormalities in brain function and structure. Here we discuss how future developments in functional, structural and nuclear brain imaging may help us to better understand, diagnose, and potentially even treat PD. These new horizons may be reached by developing tracers that specifically bind to alpha synuclein, by looking into different places in the body (such as the gut) or in smaller cerebral nuclei (with improved spatial resolution), and by developing new approaches for quantifying and interpreting altered dynamics in large-scale brain networks.