Reliability of striatal [¹¹C]raclopride binding in smokers wearing transdermal nicotine patches.
OBJECTIVE
In studies where [(11)C]raclopride (RAC) positron emission tomography (PET) is used to assess changes in striatal dopamine, it is important to control for cognitive states, such as drug craving, that could alter dopamine levels. In cigarette smokers, transdermal nicotine patches (TNP) can control nicotine craving, but the effects of nicotine patches on RAC binding are unknown. Thus, we sought to determine the test-retest reliability of RAC binding in the presence of nicotine patches.


METHODS
Eleven male smokers were scanned twice with RAC on separate days while wearing TNP.


RESULTS
Across the striatum, test-retest variability was 7.63 ± 5.88; percent change in binding potential was 1.11 ± 9.83; and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (p < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Baseline RAC binding is highly reproducible in smokers wearing nicotine patches. This suggests that TNP are an acceptable method for controlling cigarette craving during studies that utilize RAC to examine changes in dopamine.
Indiana University Center for Neuroimaging, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. kkyoder@iupui.edu
Karmen K
KK
Yoder
Daniel S
DS
Albrecht
David A
DA
Kareken
Lauren M
LM
Federici
Kevin M
KM
Perry
Elizabeth A
EA
Patton
Qi-Huang
QH
Zheng
Bruce H
BH
Mock
Sean J
SJ
O'Connor
Christine M
CM
Herring
D000328:Adult; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D020891:Raclopride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D061485:Tobacco Use Cessation Devices
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D020891:Raclopride; D004298:Dopamine