Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hansen, Hanne Demant
• Lindberg, Ulrich
• Ozenne, Brice
• Fisher, Patrick MacDonald
• Johansen, Annette
• Svarer, Claus
• Keller, Sune Høgild
• Hansen, Adam Espe
• Knudsen, Gitte Moos

Titel

Visual stimuli induce serotonin release in occipital cortex: A simultaneous positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging study

Ist Teil von

• Human brain mapping, 2020-11, Vol.41 (16), p.4753-4763

Ort / Verlag

Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Wiley Online Library - AutoHoldings Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Endogenous serotonin (5‐HT) release can be measured noninvasively using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in combination with certain serotonergic radiotracers. This allows us to investigate effects of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions on brain 5‐HT levels in living humans. Here, we study the neural responses to a visual stimulus using simultaneous PET/MRI. In a cross‐over design, 11 healthy individuals were PET/MRI scanned with the 5‐HT1B receptor radioligand [11C]AZ10419369, which is sensitive to changes in endogenous 5‐HT. During the last part of the scan, participants either viewed autobiographical images with positive valence (n = 11) or kept their eyes closed (n = 7). The visual stimuli increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the occipital cortex, as measured with pseudo‐continuous arterial spin labeling. Simultaneously, we found decreased 5‐HT1B receptor binding in the occipital cortex (−3.6 ± 3.6%), indicating synaptic 5‐HT release. Using a linear regression model, we found that the change in 5‐HT1B receptor binding was significantly negatively associated with change in CBF in the occipital cortex (p = .004). For the first time, we here demonstrate how cerebral 5‐HT levels change in response to nonpharmacological stimuli in humans, as measured with PET. Our findings more directly support a link between 5‐HT signaling and visual processing and/or visual attention. Here, we study the neural responses to a visual stimulus using simultaneous positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. We find a significant association between anincrease in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the occipital cortex along and a decrease in [11C]AZ10419369 binding, suggesting synaptic serotonin (5‐HT) release. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that simultaneous changes in CBF and 5‐HT levels in response to physiological stimuli have been measured.