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Applications of SPECT imaging of dopaminergic neurotransmission in neuropsychiatric disorders

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Abstract

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) tracers selective for pre- and post-synaptic targets have allowed measurements of several aspects of dopaminergic (DA) neurotransmission. In this article, we will first review our DA transporter imaging in Parkinson's disease. We have developed thein vivo dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging with [123I]β-CIT ((1R)-2β-Carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)tropane). This method showed that patients with Parkinson's disease have markedly reduced DAT levels in striatum, which correlated with disease severity and disease progression. Second, we applied DA imaging techniques in patients with schizophrenia. Using amphetamine as a releaser of DA, we observed the enhanced DA release, which was measured by imaging D2 receptors with [123I]IBZM (iodobenzamide), in schizophrenics. Further we developed the measurement of basal synaptic DA levels by AMPT (alpha-methyl-paratyrosine)-induced unmasking of D2 receptors. Finally, we expanded our techniques to the measurement of extrastriatal DA receptors using [123I]epidepride.

The findings suggest that SPECT is a useful technique to measure DA transmission in human brain and may further our understanding of the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, West Haven, USA

    Akira Kugaya, Masahiro Fujita & Robert B. Innis

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  1. Akira Kugaya
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  2. Masahiro Fujita
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  3. Robert B. Innis
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Based on an invited special lecture at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine, Akita, October 1999.

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Kugaya, A., Fujita, M. & Innis, R.B. Applications of SPECT imaging of dopaminergic neurotransmission in neuropsychiatric disorders. Ann Nucl Med 14, 1–9 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02990472

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