SPET in psychopharmacology.

Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPET) permit the in vivo assessment of human biological processes with methods originally developed for preclinical studies. This opportunity is of primary interest in biological psychiatry and in psychoactive drugs development. Most of research efforts have focused on the use of PET field, and several biological finding on central nervous system (CNS) diseases have been published. Despite methodological limitations, the feasibility and usefulness of SPET for research, including full quantification, kinetic modeling and tracer validation, has been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this paper is to review advantages, limitations and results of SPET in psychopharmacology.