Striatal dopamine type 2 receptor availability in anorexia nervosa.
The neurobiology of anorexia nervosa remains incompletely understood. Here we utilized PET imaging with the radiotracer [(11)C]raclopride to measure striatal dopamine type 2 (D2) receptor availability in patients with anorexia nervosa. 25 women with anorexia nervosa who were receiving treatment in an inpatient program participated, as well as 25 control subjects. Patients were scanned up to two times with the PET tracer [(11)C]raclopride: once while underweight, and once upon weight restoration. Control subjects underwent one PET scan. In the primary analyses, there were no significant differences between underweight patients (n=21) and control subjects (n=25) in striatal D2 receptor binding potential. Analysis of subregions (sensorimotor striatum, associative striatum, limbic striatum) did not reveal differences between groups. In patients completing both scans (n=15), there were no detectable changes in striatal D2 receptor binding potential after weight restoration. In this sample, there were no differences in striatal D2 receptor binding potential between patients with anorexia nervosa and control subjects. Weight restoration was not associated with a change in striatal D2 receptor binding. These findings suggest that disturbances in reward processing in this disorder are not attributable to abnormal D2 receptor characteristics, and that other reward-related neural targets may be of greater relevance.
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: aib8@cumc.columbia.edu.
Allegra
A
Broft
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA.
Mark
M
Slifstein
Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Radiology, New York, NY, USA; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY, USA.
Joseph
J
Osborne
Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Radiology, New York, NY, USA.
Paresh
P
Kothari
Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Radiology, New York, NY, USA.
Simon
S
Morim
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA; Boston University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA, USA.
Rebecca
R
Shingleton
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA.
Lindsay
L
Kenney
Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Radiology, New York, NY, USA.
Shankar
S
Vallabhajosula
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA.
Evelyn
E
Attia
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA.
Diana
D
Martinez
Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA.
B
B
Timothy Walsh
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000378:metabolism; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D020891:Raclopride / Q000378:metabolism; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D012201:Reward; D055815:Young Adult
D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D020891:Raclopride; D004298:Dopamine
Dopamine D(2) receptor; Eating disorders; Neuroimaging; Positron Emission Tomography; Striatum; [(11)C]raclopride