Positron emission tomography radioligands for the opioid system

Abstract

Opiate receptors are found in the brain, the spinal cord, some peripheral sensory neurons, and the gastrointestinal tract. Naturally occurring and synthetic opiate ligands exert their influence on a wide variety of processes including analgesia, euphoria, dysphoria, sedation, respiratory depression, and miosis and are frequently topics for discussions on addiction and physical dependence. This review looks at the history of positron emission tomography radioligands for probing this receptor system.

Keywords: fluorine-18; neuroreceptor; opiate; receptor.