ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to describe how radiotracer imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurotransmission has provided us with more insight into the mechanism of action of clinically used antipsychotics and how it can contribute to the development of and treatment with novel antipsychotics. The binding of antipsychotics to postsynaptic sites can be labeled with probes for either the dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) or the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R). The effects of antipsychotics have been studied on regional indices of neuronal function such as glucose metabolism and N-acetylaspartate (NA A) concentration. The application of these paradigms will be reviewed with special emphasis to the therapeutic use of antipsychotics in schizophrenia. This chapter borrows from three previous articles (1-3).
