The contribution of small animal positron emission tomography to the neurosciences--a critical evaluation.

This article presents an overview of those animal studies which so far have been performed with dedicated small animal positron emission tomographs in the field of the neurosciences. In vivo investigations focus on energy metabolism, perfusion and receptor/transporter binding in rat models of reinforcement, learning and memory, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, depression, cardiovascular diseases--such as ischemia and focal stroke--and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. In the majority of studies, important novel aspects arise from the fact that the investigators made use of an option inherent to in vivo studies, namely to conduct longitudinal investigations on the same animals. Relevant findings pertain to the relationship of brain metabolism/perfusion and the cholinergic system, the regulation state of dopamine receptors upon cocaine administration and withdrawal, the regulation state of dopamine receptors and transporters in animal models of Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, and potential treatments of progressive dopaminergic depletion with adenoviral vectors, embryonic grafts, stem cells and nerve growth factors.