An international group of experts in pharmacokinetic modeling recommends a consensus nomenclature to describe in vivo molecular imaging of reversibly binding radioligands.

Neurotransmitter receptors support the propagation of signals in the human brain. How receptor systems are situated within macro-scale neuroanatomy and how they shape emergent function remain poorly understood, and there exists no comprehensive atlas of receptors. Here we collate positron emission tomography data from more than 1,200 healthy individuals to construct a whole-brain three-dimensional normative atlas of 19 receptors and transporters across nine different neurotransmitter systems. We found that receptor profiles align with structural connectivity and mediate function, including neurophysiological oscillatory dynamics and resting-state hemodynamic functional connectivity. Using the Neurosynth cognitive atlas, we uncovered a topographic gradient of overlapping receptor distributions that separates extrinsic and intrinsic psychological processes. Finally, we found both expected and novel associations between receptor distributions and cortical abnormality patterns across 13 disorders. We replicated all findings in an independently collected autoradiography dataset. This work demonstrates how chemoarchitecture shapes brain structure and function, providing a new direction for studying multi-scale brain organization.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in synaptic plasticity, neuronal differentiation and survival of neurons. Observations of decreas

The main psychedelic component of magic mushrooms is psilocybin, which shows promise as a treatment for depression and other mental disorders. Psychedelic effects are believed to emerge through stimulation of serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2ARs) by psilocybin’s active metabolite, psilocin. We here report for the first time the relationship between intensity of psychedelic effects, cerebral 5-HT2AR occupancy and plasma levels of psilocin in humans. Eight healthy volunteers underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scans with the 5-HT2AR agonist radioligand [¹¹C]Cimbi-36: one at baseline and one or two additional scans on the same day after a single oral intake of psilocybin (3–30 mg). 5-HT2AR occupancy was calculated as the percent change in cerebral 5-HT2AR binding relative to baseline. Subjective psychedelic intensity and plasma psilocin levels were measured during the scans. Relations between subjective intensity, 5-HT2AR occupancy, and plasma psilocin levels were modeled using non-linear regression. Psilocybin intake resulted in dose-related 5-HT2AR occupancies up to 72%; plasma psilocin levels and 5-HT2AR occupancy conformed to a single-site binding model. Subjective intensity was correlated with both 5-HT2AR occupancy and psilocin levels as well as questionnaire scores. We report for the first time that intake of psilocybin leads to significant 5-HT2AR occupancy in the human brain, and that both psilocin plasma levels and 5-HT2AR occupancy are closely associated with subjective intensity ratings, strongly supporting that stimulation of 5-HT2AR is a key determinant for the psychedelic experience. Important for clinical studies, psilocin time-concentration curves varied but psilocin levels were closely associated with psychedelic experience.

Background and Purpose —Under normal circumstances, autoregulation maintains cerebral blood flow (CBF) constant within a wide range of mean arterial pressure (MAP). It remains unknown whether patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest have preserved CBF autoregulation. In this study, CBF autoregulation was investigated within the first 24 hours after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Methods —Eighteen patients and 6 healthy volunteers had relative changes in CBF determined by transcranial Doppler mean flow velocity (V _mean ) in the middle cerebral artery during a stepwise rise in MAP by use of norepinephrine infusion. V _mean was plotted against MAP, and a lower limit of autoregulation was identified by double regression analysis based on the least-squares method. Results —In patients, V _mean increased from a median of 33 (range 19 to 73) to 37 (22 to 100) cm/s ( P <0.001) during a norepinephrine-induced rise in MAP from 78 (46 to 118) to 106 (60 to 149) mm Hg. Eight of 18 patients had impaired CBF autoregulation, and in 5 of the 10 patients with preserved CBF autoregulation, the lower limit of autoregulation could be identified. The lower limit of CBF autoregulation was 76 mm Hg (41 to 105 mm Hg) in the volunteers and 114 mm Hg (80 to 120 mm Hg) in the 5 patients with preserved autoregulation ( P <0.01). Conclusions —We conclude that in a majority of patients in the acute phase after cardiac arrest, cerebral autoregulation is either absent or right-shifted. These results indicate that MAP should be kept at a higher level than commonly accepted to secure cerebral perfusion. We recommend, however, that further randomized clinical trials are performed to determine whether sympathomimetic drugs improve neurological outcome.

Species differences occur in the brain concentrations of drugs, but the reasons for these differences are not yet apparent. This study was designed to compare brain uptake of three radiolabeled P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates across species using positron emission tomography. Brain concentrations and brain-to-plasma ratios were compared; [¹¹C]verapamil in rats, guinea pigs, and monkeys; [¹¹C](S)-(2-methoxy-5-(5-trifluoromethyltetrazol-1-yl)-phenylmethylamino)-2(S)-phenylpiperidine (GR205171) in rats, guinea pigs, monkeys, and humans; and [¹⁸F]altanserin in rats, minipigs, and humans. The fraction of the unbound radioligand in plasma was studied along with its metabolism. The effect of P-gp inhibition was investigated by administering cyclosporin A (CsA). Pronounced species differences were found in the brain and brain-to-plasma concentrations of [¹¹C]verapamil, [¹¹C]GR205171, and [¹⁸F]altanserin with higher brain distribution in humans, monkeys, and minipigs than in rats and guinea pigs. For example, the brain-to-plasma ratio of [¹¹C]GR205171 was almost 9-fold higher in humans compared with rats. The species differences were still present after P-gp inhibition, although the increase in brain concentrations after P-gp inhibition was somewhat greater in rats than in the other species. Differences in plasma protein binding and metabolism did not explain the species-related differences. The findings are important for interpretation of brain drug delivery when extrapolating preclinical data to humans. Compounds found to be P-gp substrates in rodents are likely to also be substrates in higher species, but sufficient blood-brain barrier permeability may be retained in humans to allow the compound to act at intracerebral targets.