Administration of MPTP acutely increases glucose utilization in the substantia nigra of primates.

The quantitative 2-[14C]deoxyglucose autoradiographic method was used to map the regional distribution of the acute effects of administration of the neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), on local cerebral glucose utilization in rhesus monkeys. Metabolic activity was increased (+80%) in the substantia nigra pars compacta, which has been shown to be the main target site of MPTP toxicity. Metabolic activity was also increased in the nucleus paranigralis, nucleus parabrachialis pigmentosus, and ventral lamella of the inferior olive. In contrast, substantial decreases in glucose utilization were found diffusely distributed throughout many of the other structures examined, most prominently in portions of the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum.