title: Simultaneous assessment of rodent behavior and neurochemistry using a miniature positron emission tomograph.
abstract: Positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging and behavioral assays in rodents are widely used in neuroscience. PET gives insights into the molecular processes of neuronal communication, and behavioral methods analyze the actions that are associated with such processes. These methods have not been directly integrated, because PET studies in animals have until now required general anesthesia to immobilize the subject, which precludes behavioral studies. We present a method for imaging awake, behaving rats with PET that allows the simultaneous study of behavior. Key components include the 'rat conscious animal PET' or RatCAP, a miniature portable PET scanner that is mounted on the rat's head, a mobility system that allows considerable freedom of movement, radiotracer administration techniques and methods for quantifying behavior and correlating the two data sets. The simultaneity of the PET and behavioral data provides a multidimensional tool for studying the functions of different brain regions and their molecular constituents.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Sudeepti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Southekal
authors.forename: Sachin S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Junnarkar
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pratte
authors.forename: Martin L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Purschke
authors.forename: Sean P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Stoll
authors.forename: Bosky
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ravindranath
authors.forename: Sri Harsha
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Maramraju
authors.forename: Srilalan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnamoorthy
authors.forename: Fritz A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Henn
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Woody
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Schlyer
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D051381:Rats / Q000502:physiology*