| |
SPECT brain scans. In the four surface views on the left, the less active regions of the brain show up as holes or dents. The scans on the right show the most active 15 percent of the brain in red and white. |
|
|
|
Nuclear medicine studies measure the physiological functioning of the body, and they can be used to diagnose a multitude of medical conditions: heart disease, certain forms of infection, the spread of cancer, and bone and thyroid disease. My own area of expertise in nuclear medicine, the brain, uses SPECT studies to help in the diagnosis of head trauma, dementia, atypical or unresponsive mood disorders, strokes, seizures, the impact of drug abuse on brain function and atypical or unresponsive aggressive behavior.
During the late70s and 80s SPECT studies were being replaced in many cases by the sophisticated anatomical CAT and later MRI studies. The resolution of those studies was far superior to SPECT as far as
seeing tumors, cysts and blood clots. In fact, they nearly eliminated the use of SPECT studies altogether. Yet despite their clarity, CAT scans and MRI's could offer only images of a static brain, and its anatomy; they gave
little or no information on the activity in a working brain. It was analogous to looking at the parts of a car’s engine without being able to turn it on. In the last decade it has become increasingly recognized that many
neurological and psychiatric disorders are not disorders of the brain's anatomy, but problems in how it
functions.
|
|
