ABSTRACT
The approach of mapping functional events in the central nervous system (CNS), as these are reflected in local rates of glucose utilization, provides neuropharmacologists with a novel strategy with which to investigate the consequences of drug action. Functional mapping with C-2-deoxyglucose autoradiography has been employed in almost every area of neuropharmacology in attempts to gain insight into drug actions in the CNS. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. The simple circuitry of the primary visual system, which is influenced by photoreceptor activation, provides a powerful analogy for the complex circuits influenced by neurotransmitter receptor activation. The use of the C-2-deoxyglucose technique receives its most definitive support from the application of the technique itself in simple sensory stimulation and deprivation experiments. Investigations of physiological activation and depression, using C-2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, provide crucial interpretative insight into the anatomical distribution of locally altered glucose use after pharmacological intervention.
