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SPECT Imaging

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Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology

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Synonyms

Single-photon emission computed tomography; Single-photon emission tomography (SPET); SPET

Definition

SPECT is a nuclear imaging method that uses a radioactive tracer (radiopharmaceutical) to measure blood flow or to label brain molecules of interest. The radioactive tracers used in SPECT produce a single photon that is detected by a camera sensitive to photon emissions (gamma camera). SPECT can be used in animal and human research and in human clinical diagnosis to noninvasively assay cerebral blood flow (as an indirect marker of neuronal activity) and cell molecular components of interest (targets), such as neurotransmitter receptors, neurotransmitter reuptake transporters, and other proteins of interest. SPECT methods and uses overlap considerably with those of positron emission tomography (PET), another nuclear imaging method widely used in psychopharmacology.

Principles and Role in Psychopharmacology

Basic Method

The fundamental principle of SPECT imaging consists of...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Psychiatric Neuroimaging Program, Vanderbilt Addiction Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 3057 PHV, Nashville, TN, 37212-8645, USA

    Ronald L. Cowan

  2. Director of Neurochemical Brain Imaging and PET, Neurotracer Development, 1161 21st Avenue, South, MCN CCC-1121, Neuroradiology, TN, 37232-2675, USA

    Robert Kessler

Authors
  1. Ronald L. Cowan
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  2. Robert Kessler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronald L. Cowan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Behavioural Pharmacology, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry P049, London, United Kingdom

    Ian P. Stolerman

  2. Brown Medical School, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Lawrence H. Price

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cowan, R.L., Kessler, R. (2014). SPECT Imaging. In: Stolerman, I., Price, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_52-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_52-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27772-6

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