Single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) and positron emission tomography(PET) are modern imaging techniques that allow for both qualitative and quantitative assessment of hemodynamic changes in cerebrovascular diseases. SPECT has been becoming an indispensable method to investigate regional cerebral blood flow because equipment and isotope are easily available in most general hospitals. Acetazolamide stress SPECT has also been proved to be useful to evaluate the cerebrovascular reserve of occlusive cerebrovascular diseases and to select surgical candidate. PET has gained wide spread clinical use in the evaluation of the hemodynamic and metabolic consequences of extracranial or intracranial arterial obstructive disease despite its complexity and limited availability. PET has been established as an invaluable tool in the pathophysilogy investigation of acute ischemic stroke. The potentials, limitations, and clinical applications of SPECT and PET in various cerebrovascular diseases will be discussed in this article with reviews of literatures.

Neurodegenerative disorders cause a variety of dementia including Alzheimer disease, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, and Huntington's disease. PET scan is useful for early detection and differential diagnosis of these dementing disorders. Also, it provides valuable information about clinico-anatomical correlation, allowing better understanding of function of brain. Here we discuss recent achievements PET studies regarding these dementing disorders. Future progress in PET technology, new tracers, and image analysis will play an important role in further clarifying the disease pathophysiology and brain functions.

Finding epileptogenic zone is the most important step for the successful epilepsy surgery. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can be used in the localization of epileptogenic foci. In medial temporal lobe epilepsy, the diagnostic sensitivity of FDG-PET and ictal SPECT is excellent. However, detection of hippocampal sclerosis by MRI is so certain that use of FDG-PET and ictal SPECT in medial temporal lobe epilepsy is limited for some occasions. In neocortical epilepsy, the sensitivities of FDG-PET or ictal SPECT are fair. However, FDG-PET and ictal SPECT can have a crucial role in the localization of epileptogenic foci for non-lesional neocortical epilepsy. Interpretation of FDG-PET has been recently advanced by voxel-based analysis and automatic volume of interest analysis based on a population template. Both analytical methods can aid the objective diagnosis of epileptogenic foci. Ictal SPECT was analyzed using subtraction methods and voxel-based analysis. Rapidity of injection of tracers, ictal EEG findings during injection of tracer, and repeated ictal SPECT were important technical issues of ictal SPECT. SPECT can also be used in the evaluation of validity of Wada test.

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is responsible for the re-uptake of dopamine from the synaptic cleft and is located on dopaminergic nerve terminals only. DAT single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron omission tomography (PET) imaging, therefore, offer the unique opportunity to study via striatal uptake the integrity of presynaptic dopaminergic nerve terminals in vivo. In recent years SPECT and PET using specific ligands binding to DAT have evolved as an useful tool for diagnosing and monitoring progression of neurodegenerative disorders affecting dopaminergic systems. This article briefly reviews the literature dealing with DAT SPECT and PET imaging in parkinsonism and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Microarray technology allows the simultaneous analysis of gene expression patterns of thousands of genes, in a systematic fashion, under a similar set of experimental conditions, thus making the data highly comparable. In some cases arrays are used simply as a primary screen loading to downstream molecular characterization of individual gene candidates. In other cases, the goal of expression profiling is to begin to identify complex regulatory networks underlying developmental processes and disease states. Microarrays were originally used with ceil lines or other simple model systems. More recently, microarrays have been used in the analysis of more complex biological tissues including neural systems and the brain. The application of cDNA arrays in neuropsychiatry has lagged behind other fields for a number of reasons. These include a requirement for a large amount of input probe RNA In fluorescent-glass based array systems and the cellular complexity introduced by multicellular brain and neural tissues. An additional factor that impacts the general use of microarrays in neuropsychiatry is the lack of availability of sequenced clone sets from model systems. While human cDNA clones have been widely available, high qualify rat, mouse, and drosophilae, among others are just becoming widely available. A final factor in the application of cDNA microarrays in neuropsychiatry is cost of commercial arrays. As academic microarray facilitates become more commonplace custom made arrays will become more widely available at a lower cost allowing more widespread applications. in summary, microarray technology is rapidly having an impact on many areas of biomedical research. Radioisotope-nylon based microarrays offer alternatives that may in some cases be more sensitive, flexible, inexpensive, and universal as compared to other array formats, such as fluorescent-glass arrays. In some situations of limited RNA or exotic species, radioactive membrane microarrays may be the most practical experimental approach in studying psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, and other complex questions in the brain.

After the development of two major techniques - SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) to image the human subjects in a three-dimensional direction in the 1980s, many radiotracers have been used for functional neuroimaging. Still it would be very important study to develop selective radiotracers for functional neuroimaging. New radiotracers will help to expand the knowledge of neurotransmitter systems and of the genetic contribution to receptor or transporter availability. Neurotransmitter depletion-restoration studies, the distribution of brain functions and their modulation by neurotransmitter system aid in better understanding and limiting the side effects of drugs used as well as newly developed. In audition, these radiotracers will be thus very useful to gain a better understanding in biochemical and pharmacological interactions in living human. This review mentions the introduction of radioligands for the functional neuroimaging. Although significant progress has been achieved in the development of new PET and SPECT ligands for in vivo imaging of those receptors and transporters, there are continuous needs of new diagnostic radioligands.

Functional MRI (fMRI) provides an indirect mapping of cerebral activity, based on the detection of the local blood flow and oxygenation changes following neuronal activity (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent). fMRI allows us to study noninvasively the normal and pathological aspects of functional cortical organization. Each fMRI study compares two different states of activity. Echo-Planar Imaging is the technique that makes it possible to study the whole brain at a rapid pace. Activation maps are calculated from a statistical analysis of the local signal changes. fMRI is now becoming an essential tool in the neurofunctional evaluation of normal volunteers and many neurological patients as well as the reference method to image normal or pathologic functional brain organization.