Abstract
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Objectives: Adolescence is a time of dramatic change and development in the brain as the transition from childhood to adulthood occurs. The dopamine system is of primary interest at this period due to its role in the development of cognitive function and mood as well as its suspected involvement in neuropsychiatric illness.
Methods: The in vivo D2/D3 dopamine receptor binding was measured in a cohort of 33 rhesus monkeys in the adolescence stage of development (23 female,10 male; 3.2–5.3 yr) using [F-18]fallypride high resolution PET imaging. The cohort consists of 3 groups based on behavioral stress reactivity. The DVR was measured for all subjects in the striatal and extrastriatal regions of the brain.
Results: The DVR coefficient of variation across the entire cohort was: putamen (21%), caudate (20%), ventral striatum (17%), substantia nigra (13%), thalamus (14%), amygdala (20%), ant cing (12%), frontal c (12%). The intersubject rank of DVR was consistent across all regions of the brain. The spearman correlation among regions was highest between the striatal regions (ρ>0.6). The substantia nigra displayed significant correlation with all regions except frontal cortex. There were no regions in the brain that showed significant age related changes in DVR within this small but critical age range. Analysis is ongoing to investigate the relationship between D2/D3 binding with behavioral and neuroendocrine data.
Conclusions: These data represent the first report of large cohort in vivo D2/D3 whole brain binding in the adolescent brain and provide the groundwork for studying D2/D3 changes during adult development.
Research Support: MH046729, MH052354
- Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.