Author:

Keywords:

Aging, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Dominance, Cerebral, Female, Fluorine Radioisotopes, Humans, Ketanserin, Male, Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A, Receptors, Serotonin, Reference Values, Serotonin Antagonists, Tomography, Emission-Computed, serotonin, pet, altanserin, 5-ht2a receptors, fluorine-18, in vivo, alzheimer-type dementia, living human-brain, serotonin receptors, f-18 altanserin, suicide victims, binding-sites, invivo, ketanserin, setoperone, depression, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Clinical Neurology, Neuroimaging, Psychiatry, Neurosciences & Neurology, PET, 5-HT2A receptors, ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA, LIVING HUMAN-BRAIN, SEROTONIN RECEPTORS, F-18 ALTANSERIN, SUICIDE VICTIMS, BINDING-SITES, INVIVO, KETANSERIN, SETOPERONE, DEPRESSION, Adult, 1103 Clinical Sciences, 1109 Neurosciences, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, 3202 Clinical sciences, 3209 Neurosciences, 5202 Biological psychology

Abstract:

We used [F-18]altanserin and positron emission tomography (PET) to image serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in humans. The highest [F-18]altanserin uptake is found in the cerebral cortex, with specific-to-nonspecific binding ratios varying from 0.53 to 1.91 in humans between 24 and 48 years of age. In all neocortical regions studied, [F-18]altanserin uptake correlates negatively with age. No correlations were found between age and uptake in the cerebellum, the regional cerebral blood flow, or the time course of metabolization of [F-18]altanserin. The reduction in cerebral 5-HT2A receptor binding thus directly reflects the loss of specific 5-HT2A receptors with age. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.