Atlas of type 2 dopamine receptors in the human brain: Age and sex dependent variability in a large PET cohort
Tuulia Malén, Tomi Karjalainen, Janne Isojärvi, Aki Vehtari, Paul‐Christian Bürkner, Vesa Putkinen, Valtteri Kaasinen, Jarmo Hietala, Pirjo Nuutila, Juha O. Rinne, Lauri Nummenmaa
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The dopamine system contributes to a multitude of functions ranging from reward and motivation to learning and movement control, making it a key component in goal-directed behavior. Altered dopaminergic function is observed in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Numerous factors have been proposed to influence dopamine function, but due to small sample sizes and heterogeneous data analysis methods in previous studies their specific and joint contributions remain unresolved. METHODS: R) availability in the human brain. We analyzed a large historical dataset (n=156, 120 males and 36 females) of [11C]raclopride PET scans performed between 2004 and 2018. RESULTS: R. The observed effects were independent of regional volumes. These results were validated using two different spatial normalization methods, and the age and sex effects also replicated in an independent sample (n=135). CONCLUSIONS: R expression.