Functional brain imaging of movement disorders

Functional brain imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) have contributed to our understanding of the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other movement disorders. PET employs small amounts of positron emitting radioligands to produce quantitative measures of physiological and biochemical processes in the brain and other organs. In a PET experiment, a subject is given a compound of biological interest. The spatial and temporal distribution of the radiotracer is measured quantitatively in the course of the PET study, providing a tomographic representation of regional radioactivity concentration. In this review, we focus on the potential application of PET in the selection of suitable candidates and the assessment of surgical interventions such as pallidotomy, thalamotomy, and deep brain stimulation.