Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices
Published on: August 11, 2021
Availability of dopamine and serotonin transporters in opioid-dependent users--a two-isotope SPECT study
Tzung Lieh Yeh1, Kao Chin Chen, Shih-Hsien Lin
1Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan, 704, Taiwan.
Rationale And Objective:
The aims of this study were to examine the differences between 32 opioid-dependent users treated with a very low dose of methadone or undergoing methadone-free abstinence and 32 controls.
Methods:
SPECT analysis using [(99m)Tc] TRODAT-1 to assess striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability and [(123)I] ADAM to assess midbrain serotonin transporter (SERT) availability were performed.
Results:
Lower striatal DAT and midbrain SERT availabilities were noted in low-dose methadone users. History of metamphatamine use was associated with the lower striatal DAT. The striatal DAT of methadone-free abstainers was also lower than controls. The midbrain SERT availability tended to be higher in the methadone-free abstainers than the low-dose methadone users. The severity of depressive symptoms was negatively correlated with midbrain SERT availability in the opioid users.
Conclusion:
The availability of striatal DAT tended to be, and the availability of midbrain SERT was, lower in the opioid users. History of metamphatamine use may confound the difference in straital DAT between controls and opioid users, as midbrain SERT and depressive symptoms are also associated with opioid use and abstinence.
More Related Videos
11:26Assessment of Dopaminergic Homeostasis in Mice by Use of High-performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis and Synaptosomal Dopamine Uptake
Published on: September 21, 2017
08:49Rapid In Situ Hybridization using Oligonucleotide Probes on Paraformaldehyde-prefixed Brain of Rats with Serotonin Syndrome
Published on: September 23, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake
Opioid Receptors: Overview
Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Synthesis
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents