Positron emission tomography is a medical imaging technique that provides u
nique information concerning many biochemical mechanisms underlying normal
physiologic function. With respect to the central nervous system (CNS), sel
ective radiolabeled compounds targeted at specific neurotransmitter recepto
r systems reveal information not only concerning receptor distribution and
enzymatic activity but neurotransmitter concentrations as well. Recent adva
nces in our understanding of these systems may be utilized to further under
stand changes in brain biochemistry that either result from or produce symp
tomatology associated with many CNS disease states. The ability to measure
interactions between neurotransmitter systems in the human brain may also a
dd to our knowledge of drug side effects and disease progression. While man
y CNS diseases have been defined as "neurotransmitter-specific" in nature,
scientific data now suggests that changes in multiple neurotransmitter syst
ems are evident in the brains of patients suffering from these classically
described diseases. PET is a powerful tool that can be used to examine many
of these changes in the living human brain.