Opportunities in precision psychiatry using PET neuroimaging in psychosis

Jennifer M Coughlin; Andrew G Horti; Martin G Pomper

doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2019.03.016

Opportunities in precision psychiatry using PET neuroimaging in psychosis

Neurobiol Dis. 2019 Nov:131:104428. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.03.016. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Authors

Jennifer M Coughlin¹, Andrew G Horti², Martin G Pomper³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: jcoughl2@jhmi.edu.
² Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

With the movement toward precision medicine in healthcare, recent studies of individuals with psychosis have begun to explore positron emission tomography (PET) as a tool to test for biochemical signatures that may distinguish subtypes of psychosis that guide subtype-specific therapeutic interventions. This review presents selected PET findings that exemplify early promise in using molecular imaging to predict treatment response, provide rationale for new therapeutic targets, and monitor target engagement in biomarker-defined subtypes of psychosis. PET data, among other data types, may prove useful in the scientific pursuit of identifying precision strategies to improve clinical outcomes for individuals with psychosis.

Keywords: Dopamine; Neuroimmunity; PET imaging; Precision medicine; Psychosis; alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Brain / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Molecular Imaging / methods
Molecular Imaging / trends
Neuroimaging / methods*
Neuroimaging / trends
Positron-Emission Tomography / methods*
Positron-Emission Tomography / trends
Precision Medicine / methods*
Precision Medicine / trends
Psychiatry / methods*
Psychiatry / trends
Psychotic Disorders / diagnostic imaging*

Grants and funding

P41 EB024495/EB/NIBIB NIH HHS/United States