Methods for Quantifying Neurotransmitter Dynamics in the Living Brain With PET Imaging
Jenny Ceccarini, Heather Liu, Koen Van Laere, Evan D. Morris, Christin Y. Sander
Abstract
PET neuroimaging in neuropsychiatry is a powerful tool for the quantification of molecular brain targets to characterize disease, assess disease subtype differences, evaluate short and long-term effects of treatments, or even to measure neurotransmitter levels in healthy and psychiatric conditions. In this work, we present different methodological approaches (time-invariant models and models with time-varying terms) that have been used to measure dynamic changes in neurotransmitter levels induced by pharmacological or behavioural challenges in humans. The developments and potential use of hybrid PET/MRI for neurotransmission brain research will also be highlighted.