Neuroimaging is a technique using high technology devices that take pictures of the brain. The pictures reveal the function of different parts of the brain.

In 1990 Alan Zametkin and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health published a landmark article that evaluated brain metabolic activity in 25 adults with ADHD who had a childhood history of the disorder. The authors used positron emission tomography or PET scans to detect states of brain activity and found reduced metabolic activity in the frontal and striatal regions of the brain. Although, there was difficulty in replicating the exact study, this article with its demonstration that reduced brain activity in particular regions became a seminal idea for other investigators to pursue.

Since that time, a number of neuroimaging studies have concentrated on the brains of people with ADHD. Some studies concentrate on the anatomy and physiology, and other studies focus on blood flow and the physiological functions of the central nervous system. The following are several neuroimaging techniques that provide different looks at the brain:

- Computerized tomography (CT). Used for more than 30 years to examine the CNS

- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Used in a majority of studies to investigate the differences in the anatomy of people with ADHD compared with healthy controls

- Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Used to study the function of the brains

- Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Used to measure metabolism and neurotransmitters

- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Used to study anatomy as well as changes in blood flow

- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Used to study chemicals in the brain.

These study tools are valuable in studying what is happening in ADHD and possible interventions.

A new biological evaluation tool has been in clinical trials in four sites in the United States. This test uses the chemical agent Altropane which lights up certain areas of the brain when the patient is put into a brain scanner. Altropane measures the number of dopamine transporters and the natural brain chemicals, which most physicians believe are increased beyond normal levels in ADHD. This is consistent with the fact that the most commonly prescribed medication Ritalin blocks these dopamine transporters. Boston Life Sciences, a biotechnology company, holds the patent for Altropane, which is manufactured by Alseres Pharmaceuticals.

Bibliography:

1) Medical News Today. ''Boston Life Sciences, Inc. Announces The Issuance Of A U.S. Patent Licensed To BLSI By Harvard Et Al That Covers Methods For The Diagnosis Of ADHD.'' 2006.

2) Gozal, David, and Dennis L. Molfese, eds. 2005. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: From genes to patients. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.

3) Zametkin, A. J. et al. 2009. Cerebral glucose metabolism in adults with hyperactivity of childhood onset. New England Journal of Medicine 323:1361-66.

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