Selective metabolic activation by apomorphine in striosomes of denervated striatum in MPTP-induced hemiparkinsonian monkeys

Functional MRI of basal ganglia responsiveness to levodopa in parkinsonian rhesus monkeys

Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to study striatal sensitivity to levodopa in hemiparkinsonian rhesus monkeys. Responses consistent with increased neuronal activity were seen in areas whose normal dopaminergic input from the substantia nigra pars compacta had been ablated by MPTP. Sites of increased activity following levodopa included the lateral putamen, the ventral region of the caudate head, septal areas, and midlateral amygdala in the MPTP-lesioned hemisphere. Increased activity was also observed in the same areas in the nonlesioned hemisphere, but was less pronounced in spatial extent and magnitude, suggesting either subclinical contralateral damage and/or functional adaptations in the contralateral dopamine systems. The increases in neuronal activity following levodopa treatment were temporally correlated with increases in striatal dopamine levels. Chronic levodopa treatment reduced behavioral responsiveness to levodopa and abolished the fMRI response. These results suggest that fMRI can detect changes in dopamine receptor-mediated neuronal sensitivity to dopaminergic agents.

Mapping drug-induced changes in cerebral R2* by Multiple Gradient Recalled Echo functional MRI

A multiple Gradient Recalled Echo MRI sequence was used to map spatial and temporal changes in the rate of MR signal decay (R2*) in response to L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (levodopa) in the striatal dopaminergic system of a rhesus monkey unilaterally lesioned with 4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine hydrochloride (MPTP). R2* decreased significantly in the right (dopamine depleted) putamen and caudate following levodopa. More focal areas of smaller R2* decline were also observed in these structures in the left hemisphere. The observed spatial and temporal patterns of R2* change support the view that the method is monitoring changes in neural activity.