A number of neurodegenerative diseases have been evaluated with 123I-iodobenzamide (123I-IBZM) dopamine receptor scintigraphy, including Parkinson's disease. Differential diagnosis is based on the semi-quantitative determination of striatal uptake in the basal ganglia. Seven procedures for calculating basal ganglia uptake were compared and checked statistically in (1) 28 previously untreated de novo parkinsonian patients before and (2) 14 patients after (mean of 9 months) commencement of anti-Parkinson medication. Of the 21 hemi-parkinsonian patients, 16 demonstrated increased uptake contralaterally (mean right-to-left difference = 8%, sensitivity = 76%) using the most robust uptake procedure. The difference in uptake between the affected and contralateral sides (mean = 6%) was significant (P = 0.02). The mean (+/- S.D.) basal ganglia/frontal cortex (BG/FC) ratio was 1.55 +/- 0.14 (attenuation-corrected). Attenuation correction did not affect the relative ratio of basal ganglia uptake (P = 0.01). The anti-Parkinson medication did not result in any significant changes in the BG/FC ratio at follow-up, but responders could be differentiated from non-responders based on initial uptake (mean BG/FC ratio of 1.58 and 1.39 respectively). We conclude that 123I-IBZM can be used routinely to identify which Parkinson patients will benefit from dopaminergic medication.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006231-199709000-00003 | DOI Listing |
Science
January 2025
Laboratory of Cerebral Cortex Research, HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
Rewards are essential for motivation, decision-making, memory, and mental health. We identified the subventricular tegmental nucleus (SVTg) as a brainstem reward center. In mice, reward and its prediction activate the SVTg, and SVTg stimulation leads to place preference, reduced anxiety, and accumbal dopamine release.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Biol
January 2025
Carney Institute for Brain Science, Department of Cognitive & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.
The basal ganglia (BG) play a key role in decision-making, preventing impulsive actions in some contexts while facilitating fast adaptations in others. The specific contributions of different BG structures to this nuanced behavior remain unclear, particularly under varying situations of noisy and conflicting information that necessitate ongoing adjustments in the balance between speed and accuracy. Theoretical accounts suggest that dynamic regulation of the amount of evidence required to commit to a decision (a dynamic "decision boundary") may be necessary to meet these competing demands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Rep
January 2025
Lendület Thalamus Research Group, HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine, 1083 Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address:
Movement and locomotion are controlled by large neuronal circuits like the cortex-basal ganglia (BG)-thalamus loop. Besides the inhibitory thalamic output, the BG directly control movement via specialized connections with the brainstem. Whether other parallel loops with similar logic exist is presently unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Rep
January 2025
Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Electronic address:
Adaptive value-guided decision-making requires weighing up the costs and benefits of pursuing an available opportunity. Though neurons across frontal cortical-basal ganglia circuits have been repeatedly shown to represent decision-related parameters, it is unclear whether and how this information is coordinated. To address this question, we performed large-scale single-unit recordings simultaneously across 5 medial/orbital frontal and basal ganglia regions as rats decided whether to pursue varying reward payoffs available at different effort costs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Neurosci
January 2025
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Introduction: Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder frequently associated with subcortical damage. However, the precise roles of the subcortical nuclei, particularly the basal ganglia and thalamus, in the speech production process remain poorly understood.
Methods: The present study aimed to better understand their roles by mapping neuroimaging, behavioral, and speech data obtained from subacute stroke patients with subcortical lesions.
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