title: Assessment of cerebral dopamine D 2/3 formula-receptors in patients with bilateral vestibular failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Absence of peripheral vestibular input in bilateral vestibular failure (BVF) has been suggested to induce plastic reorganization in various brain regions. Among several neurotransmitters, dopamine is known to play a key role in cortico-striatal-sensorimotor processing. However, the role of dopamine in vestibular plasticity is scantly documented.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Assessment of D 2/3 formula-receptors in patients with BVF.
  
  
  METHODS
  D 2/3 formula-receptor-PET using [18F]fallypride and MRI examinations were performed in 12 BVF-patients and 13 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BVF-patients showed reduced D 2/3 formula-receptor availability (approximately 40%) in the temporo-parieto-occipital cortex bilaterally, including the multisensory vestibular cortex and visual motion-sensitive areas (MT/MST), as well as in the striatum and the right thalamus. Longer illness duration was associated with bilaterally lower D 2/3 formula-receptor availability in the middle/superior temporal gyrus (GTm/s). D 2/3 formula-receptor availability in the right GTm/s and bilateral insula decreased with severity of symptoms. BVF-patients with oscillopsia showed reduced D 2/3 formula-receptor availability in the right MT/MST and midbrain tectum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced D 2/3 formula-receptor availability in multisensory vestibular cortical network areas and basal ganglia may indicate a receptor down-regulation due to the lack of peripheral vestibular input. The more pronounced decline in D 2/3 formula-receptor availability in the multisensory vestibular cortex in patients with prolonged illness suggests the occurrence of progressive changes in dopamine transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Nathalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feuerecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Becker-Bense
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zwergal
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wulff
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Guoming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wängler
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander's University, Erlangen/Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cumming
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bartenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dieterich
authors.affiliation: German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB<formula>^{LMU}</formula>, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Clinical Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: la Fougère
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001549:Benzamides / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001549:Benzamides; C581293:DRD2 protein, human; C493593:DRD3 protein, human; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3; C574003:fallypride
keywords: PET; [<formula>^{18}</formula>F]FP; bilateral vestibular failure; dopamine D<formula>_{2/3}</formula>-receptors