Scanning techniques, brain

SPECT scans measure radiotracer uptake by tissues and provide cross-sectional images of the brain. This technique has been used extensively to assess cerebral blood flow. Although the resolution of SPECT is not as good as PET, the availability has led to wide clinical use in disorders such as stroke, dementia, and epilepsy. 

In the last few years, attention has been focused on the effects of ecstasy on the human brain. A number of studies have been carried out in ecstasy users with application of very sophisticated brain imaging techniques such as PET scanning (positron emission tomography). The results, although controversial are suggestive of damage similar to that seen in animal models. Some other studies have been carried out investigating the effects of MDMA on the metabolism of serotonin in the brain, that have involved... 

One application of this technique is in making a brain scan. When "Tc04 is injected into a normal patient, it is prevented from entering the brain by a physiological blood brain barrier." However, abnormalities such as tumors and abscesses destroy this barrier, and there is an accumulation of activity in the cerebral tissue. The technique can also be used in the detection of abnormalities in the ureters, kidneys, and bladder, of bone cancer, and of a variety of other pathological conditions. 

Not surprisingly, the first studies of the brain chemistry of addictive drugs were performed with laboratory animals. Thanks to modern noninvasive techniques for imaging the brain, the connection between dopamine and cocaine addiction in humans was verified early in 1997. Brain scans were performed as co-... 

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