Applications of Clinical Dopamine Imaging

Recent technologic advances make it increasingly possible to image neurotransmitter systems in living human brain. The dopamine system has been most intensively studied owing to its involvement in several brain disorders, including motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, as well as psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and compulsive behavioral disorders of multiple types. A variety of aspects of dopamine receptor density, function, and dopaminergic terminal status can now be assessed using the minimally invasive neuroimaging techniques of positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography. Although these techniques are currently used most often in the context of research, clinical applications are rapidly emerging.