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Selective Pharmacological Activation of Limbic Structures in Human Volunteers

A Positron Emission Tomography Study

Received January 7, 1997; revised May 7, 1997; accepted May 14, 1997. From the Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, and Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Address correspondence to Dr. Servan-Schreiber, Division of Psychiatry, Shadyside Hospital, 5230 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232.

Using a pharmacological probe, procaine hydrochloride, the authors elicited consistent and selective activation of anterior limbic and paralimbic structures in normal human volunteers as documented by H₂¹⁵O positron emission tomography. This activation was associated with a range of emotional, somatic, and visceral experiences, often similar to those experienced during the aura of temporal lobe epilepsy. Several subjects also experienced panic attacks. This study confirms that selective anterior limbic/paralimbic activity in normal human volunteers evokes many emotional phenomena as well as common "ill-defined" symptoms observed in clinical conditions. The present combination of procaine challenge and neuroimaging provides a noninvasive procedure to probe the contribution of different anterior limbic and paralimbic structures to normal human emotions and to neuropsychiatric disorders.

Key Words: Limbic System • Emotions • Positron Emission Tomography Studies

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