Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Multi-Tracer Studies of Brain Oxygen and Glucose Metabolism Using a Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Scanner
Published on: June 7, 2024
Sex differences in [11C]ABP688 binding: a positron emission tomography study of mGlu5 receptors
Kelly Smart1, Sylvia M L Cox1, Stephanie G Scala1
1Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to assess, in a large sample of healthy young adults, sex differences in the binding potential of [11C]ABP688, a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer selective for the metabotropic glutamate type 5 (mGlu5) receptor.
Methods:
High resolution [11C]ABP688 PET scans were acquired in 74 healthy volunteers (25 male, 49 female, mean age 20 ± 3.0). Mean binding potential (BPND = fND * (Bavail / KD)) values were calculated in the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and limbic regions using the simplified reference tissue model with cerebellar grey matter as the reference region.
Results:
[11C]ABP688 BPND was significantly higher in men compared to women in the prefrontal cortex (p < 0.01), striatum (p < 0.001), and hippocampus (p < 0.05). Whole-brain BPND was 17% higher in men. BPND was not related to menstrual phase in women.
Conclusions:
Binding availability of mGlu5 receptors as measured by PET [11C]ABP688 is higher in healthy men than women. This likely represents a source of variability in [11C]ABP688 studies and could have relevance for sex differences in cognitive-behavioral functions and neuropsychiatric disorders.
More Related Videos
10:21Continuous Blood Sampling in Small Animal Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Enables the Measurement of the Arterial Input Function
Published on: August 8, 2019
11:09High-Resolution Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Small Animals
Published on: December 16, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Positron Emission Tomography
One of the main requirements of a PET scan is a positron-emitting radioisotope, which is produced in a cyclotron and then attached to a substance used by the part of the body...
Imaging Studies II: Positron Emission Tomography and Scintigraphy
Fundamental Principles of PET
Emission Spectra
Sex-linked Disorders
Internal Receptors
Ligand Binding and Linkage