title: Opioid imaging.
abstract: Many breakthrough scientific discoveries have been made using opioid imaging, particularly in the fields of pain, addiction and epilepsy research. Recent developments include the application of ever higher resolution whole-brain positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, the availability of several radioligands, the combination of PET with advanced structural imaging, advances in modeling macroparameters of PET ligand binding, and large-scale statistical analysis of imaging datasets. Suitable single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) tracers are lacking, but with the increase in the number of available PET (or PET/CT) cameras and cyclotrons thanks to the clinical successes of PET in oncology, PET may become widespread enough to overcome this limitation. In the coming decade, we hope to see a more widespread application of the techniques developed in healthy volunteers to patients and more clinical impact of opioid imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, DuCane Rd., London W12 0NN, UK. alexander.hammers@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammers
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lingford-Hughes
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D011957:Receptors, Opioid