title: The metabolic centroid method for PET brain image analysis.
abstract: The method of centroids is an approach to the analysis of three-dimensional whole-brain positron emission tomography (PET) metabolic images. It utilizes the brain's geometric centroid and metabolic centroid so as to objectively characterize the central tendency of the distribution of metabolic activity in the brain. The method characterizes the three-dimensional PET metabolic image in terms of four parameters: the coordinates of the metabolic centroid and the mean metabolic rate of the whole brain. These parameters are not sensitive to spatially uniform random noise or to the position of the subject's head within a uniform PET camera field of view. The method has been applied to 40 normal subjects, 22 schizophrenics who were treated with neuroleptics, and 20 schizophrenics who were neuroleptic-free. The mean metabolic centroid of the normal subjects was found to be superior to the mean geometric centroid of the brain. The mean metabolic centroid of chronic schizophrenics is lower and more posterior to the mean geometric centroid than is that of normals. This difference is greater in medicated than in unmedicated schizophrenics. The posterior and downward displacement of the mean metabolic centroid is consistent with the concepts of hypofrontality, hyperactivity of subcortical structures, and neuroleptic effect in schizophrenics.
authors.affiliation: Statistical Sciences and Epidemiology Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Volkow
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D012984:Software; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D005947:Glucose