Authors

Miller DD. Andreasen NC. O'Leary DS. Rezai K. Watkins GL.

Ponto LL. Hichwa RD.

 

Institution

Mental Health Clinical Research Center--Major Psychoses, College of Medicine,

University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.

 

Title

Effect of antipsychotics on regional cerebral blood flow measured with

positron emission tomography [published erratum appears in

Neuropsychopharmacology 1998 Apr;18(4):323-4].

 

Source

Neuropsychopharmacology. 17(4):230-40, 1997 Oct.

 

Abstract

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging of regional cerebral blood flow

(rCBF) provides an in vivo method for studying brain function. We used

[15O]H20 PET to assess the effect of antipsychotic medications on rCBF in 17

subjects with schizophrenia. Each subject was scanned while receiving

antipsychotic medication, and after having been withdrawn from antipsychotic

medication for a 3-week period. The two scans were subtracted from one

another, using a within subjects design, and the areas of difference were

identified using the Montreal method. Subjects treated with antipsychotic

medication had significantly higher rCBF in the left basal ganglia and left

fusiform gyrus compared with the "off-medication" condition. Significantly

higher relative rCBF in the anterior cingulate, left dorsolateral and

inferior frontal cortex, and left and right cerebellum was observed when off

antipsychotic medication. Upregulation of dopamine D2 receptors may lead to a

regional increase of blood flow and metabolism in the basal ganglia, which

may explain recently reported anatomical enlargement in these regions.