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ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2011) — Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and collaborators have demonstrated the efficacy of a "wearable," portable PET scanner. The scientists developed the mechanism for rats. The scanner allows neuroscientists to study brain function and behavior while the animal is alert and moving.
"Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful tool for studying the molecular processes that occur in the brain," said Paul Vaska, head of PET physics at Brookhaven with a joint appointment at Stony Brook, who led the development of the portable scanner together with Brookhaven colleagues David Schlyer and Craig Woody. PET studies in animals at Brookhaven and elsewhere have helped to uncover the molecular underpinnings of conditions such as drug addiction.
.Srilalan Krishnamoorthy (Stony Brook), Fritz A. Henn "
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Journal Reference:
- Daniela Schulz, Sudeepti Southekal, Sachin S Junnarkar, Jean-François Pratte, Martin L Purschke, Sean P Stoll, Bosky Ravindranath, Sri Harsha Maramraju, Srilalan Krishnamoorthy, Fritz A Henn, Paul O'Connor, Craig L Woody, David J Schlyer, Paul Vaska. Simultaneous assessment of rodent behavior and neurochemistry using a miniature positron emission tomograph. Nature Methods, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1582
PET scans of a rat's brain made with the RatCAP scanner (horizontal view superimposed on a rat brain atlas figure, left, and a coronal slice, right). The rainbow scale (red = high, violet = low) indicates the level of a radiotracer that binds to receptors for dopamine, which are concentrated in the striatum, a brain region involved in reward and motivation.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110313160023.htm
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