ABSTRACT
The advances in structural and functional brain imaging techniques has permitted the investigation of the human brain in vivo, allowing for real-time delineation of neural processes unimaginable to investigators formerly restricted to research on animals and humans with brain lesions. While neurologists and neurosurgeons were the principal beneficiaries of the information provided by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), psychiatrists now anticipate equally impressive gains from functional brain imaging techniques of positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT). Already, there exists a significant accumulation of imaging data on adult neuropsychiatric disorders. While there exists much less similar research on the pediatric population (due in part to complications involving informed consent, risk/benefit ratios secondary to the use of radiation and anesthesia), recent advances in neuroimaging technology present new opportunities in the study of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in children. An important aspect of such research will be the longitudinal study of children at risk for a disorder compared to normal controls. This new technology will create new scientific markers for disease and symptoms.
