In Vivo Imaging of Neurotransmitter Systems with PET

Abstract

The advent of functional neuroimaging techniques has significantly widened the methodological repertoire of neurochemistry. Using positron emission tomography PET, the human and non-human primate brain's neurotransmitter and neuroreceptor systems can be studied in vivo. With the help of PET the distribution of the various neurotransmitter and neuroreceptor systems can be localized in precise anatomical context and several parameters of these systems can be measured in a quantitative manner. The basics of the technique, development of radiolabelled ligands, modeling and measuring radioligand effects in the brain are, among others, those key issues that are discussed concisely in the present chapter.