J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1989; 1:269-282
Copyright © 1989 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Neuropsychological "systems efficiency" and positron emission tomography
RW Parks, DJ Crockett, H Tuokko, BL Beattie, JW Ashford, KL Coburn, RF Zec, RE Becker, PL McGeer and EG McGeer
Department of Psychiatry, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield 62702.
Positron emission tomography (PET) has dramatically improved our ability to
examine the functioning of the living brain. PET studies of neural pathways
of the major sensory modalities--auditory, visual, somatosensory--have
confirmed many traditional neuropsychological concepts, such as
cross-lateral representation and regional functioning to particular primary
sensory cortical areas. Other PET studies have used radioisotopes to
examine relationships between radiopharmaceutical agents and
neurobehavioral functioning in both normal and neuropathological states. In
some areas, PET methodology requires further refinement. For example,
effort should be made to develop the technology to do multiple scans within
a short time frame; statistical procedures to examine relationships between
neuropsychological tasks and the activity or presence of
radiopharmaceutical agents in multiple sites; adequate controls for
experimental error; and activation paradigms controlling the nonspecific
effects of simple arousal. PET activation models of cognition suggest that
a "systems efficiency" approach to assessing neuropsychological test
performance involving both serial and parallel processing would be useful.
These developments will improve empirical methodology and our understanding
of brain- behavior relationships.
