Neuroimaging in psychiatry: An update.

The introduction of neuroimaging techniques in the 1960s has revolutionized the study of the biology of psychiatric disorders with implications for psychiatric practice. These comprise structural (computerized axial tomography, magnetic resonance imaging) and functional (including neurochemical/neuropharmacological techniques such as single-photon emission computerized tomography, positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy) techniques. As a result, we now have a better understanding of the morbid anatomy, pathophysiology, and chemical pathology of organic brain disease, schizophrenia, addictions, and affective disorders. This selective review will focus on recent advances in the use and application of neuroimaging techniques in the study of addictions, schizophrenia, and depression. Reference will be made to studies conducted in the United Arab Emirates on Arab patients with depression, schizophrenia, and alcohol dependence. The refinement of these techniques and their application in the study of psychiatric disorders will redefine these disorders, promising their deconstruction and the development of novel and more specific treatments.

[1]  M. Abou-Saleh,et al.  Cerebral blood flow in alcohol withdrawal: relation to severity of dependence and cognitive impairment , 2003, Acta Neuropsychiatrica.

[2]  M. Abou-Saleh,et al.  Single photon emission tomography with 99m Tc-HMPAO in Arab patients with depression. , 1999, Journal of affective disorders.

[3]  M. Abou-Saleh,et al.  A Study of Depression in Old Age Using Single-Photon Emission Computerised Tomography , 1990, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[4]  Sun I. Kim,et al.  Increased water diffusivity in the frontal and temporal cortices of schizophrenic patients , 2006, NeuroImage.

[5]  N. Volkow,et al.  Addiction and imaging of the living human brain. , 1998, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[6]  J T O'Brien,et al.  Combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Single-Photon Emission Tomography Scanning in the Discrimination of Alzheimer's Disease From Age-Matched Controls , 2001, International Psychogeriatrics.

[7]  N. Volkow,et al.  The neural basis of addiction: a pathology of motivation and choice. , 2005, The American journal of psychiatry.

[8]  James R. MacFall,et al.  Greater MRI lesion volumes in elderly depressed subjects than in control subjects , 2005, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

[9]  A. Malhotra,et al.  Schizophrenia is associated with elevated amphetamine-induced synaptic dopamine concentrations: evidence from a novel positron emission tomography method. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  S. Rauch,et al.  Neurobiology of emotion perception II: implications for major psychiatric disorders , 2003, Biological Psychiatry.

[11]  W. Gaebel,et al.  Psychiatry as a Neuroscience , 2002 .

[12]  Thomas Dierks,et al.  The spatiotemporal pattern of auditory cortical responses during verbal hallucinations , 2005, NeuroImage.

[13]  M. Laruelle,et al.  Dopamine as the wind of the psychotic fire: new evidence from brain imaging studies , 1999, Journal of psychopharmacology.

[14]  K. Krishnan,et al.  Clinical characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging-defined subcortical ischemic depression , 2004, Biological Psychiatry.

[15]  M. Phillips,et al.  Subcortical and ventral prefrontal cortical neural responses to facial expressions distinguish patients with bipolar disorder and major depression , 2004, Biological Psychiatry.

[16]  G. C. Román,et al.  Vascular dementia , 1993, Neurology.

[17]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Using serial registered brain magnetic resonance imaging to measure disease progression in Alzheimer disease: power calculations and estimates of sample size to detect treatment effects. , 2000, Archives of neurology.

[18]  I. McKeith,et al.  Volumetric MRI study of the caudate nucleus in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia , 2002, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[19]  J. Soares,et al.  The anatomy of mood disorders—review of structural neuroimaging studies , 1997, Biological Psychiatry.

[20]  T. Sigmundsson,et al.  Frontal lobe N-acetylaspartate correlates with psychopathology in schizophrenia: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study , 2003, Schizophrenia Research.

[21]  W. Drevets.  Functional anatomical abnormalities in limbic and prefrontal cortical structures in major depression. , 2000, Progress in brain research.

[22]  Klaus P. Ebmeier,et al.  Single photon emission tomography with 99mTc-exametazime in major depression and the pattern of brain activity underlying the psychotic/neurotic continuum. , 1992, Journal of affective disorders.

[23]  G. Sedvall,et al.  Positron emission tomographic analysis of central D1 and D2 dopamine receptor occupancy in patients treated with classical neuroleptics and clozapine. Relation to extrapyramidal side effects. , 1992, Archives of general psychiatry.

[24]  M. Nader,et al.  Social dominance in monkeys: dopamine D2 receptors and cocaine self-administration , 2002, Nature Neuroscience.

[25]  M. Abou-Saleh,et al.  The Use and Applications of Single-Photon Emission Computerised Tomography in Dementia , 1990, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[26]  M. Abou-Saleh,et al.  Single-photon emission tomography with 99mTc-labelled hexamethyl propylene amine oxime in Arab patients with schizophrenia , 1999 .

[27]  Anthony R. McIntosh,et al.  Limbic–frontal circuitry in major depression: a path modeling metanalysis , 2004, NeuroImage.

[28]  R. Kahn,et al.  Volumes of brain structures in twins discordant for schizophrenia. , 2001, Archives of general psychiatry.

[29]  Nora D. Volkow,et al.  The addicted human brain viewed in the light of imaging studies: brain circuits and treatment strategies , 2004, Neuropharmacology.

[30]  Larry A Tupler,et al.  Anatomic location and laterality of MRI signal hyperintensities in late-life depression. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[31]  A. Smith,et al.  Negative symptoms in schizophrenia: assessment of the effect of risperidone. , 1994 .

[32]  D. Weinberger,et al.  Brain imaging in schizophrenia. , 1995, Annual review of medicine.

[33]  Alan A. Wilson,et al.  5-HT2 and D2 receptor occupancy of olanzapine in schizophrenia: a PET investigation. , 1998, The American journal of psychiatry.