Healthy Adult Participants, Synaptic Plasticity
Conditions
Keywords
PET Imaging
Brief summary
The study will use a PET-based measure of brain cell (neuron) connections (synapses) in young adults who have also obtained an MRI, to assess how the loss of brain cell connections (synaptic pruning) is captured by MRI-based measures. This will inform youth MRI studies to understand neurotypical brain development that can help identify abnormal trajectories as in mental illness.
Detailed description
The loss of brain cell (neuron) connections (synapses) through human development, known as synaptic pruning, has been characterized in postmortem studies but how this proceeds in live humans as they age into adulthood is not well understood. This study will use the PET tracer \[11C\]UCB-J which provides a direct measure of synaptic density, in conjunction with previously acquired ultra-high field MRI, in a group of young adults in order to understand how standard MRI-based measures reflect changes in the density of synapses. PET \[11C\]UCB-J is known to measure the density of synaptic connections by measuring a protein (SV2A) present in synapses. A comparison of results from the current study with MRI-based measures of byproducts of synaptic membrane breakdown from childhood to early adulthood will allow assessment of how non-invasive MRI reflects synaptic pruning through development, facilitating studies of how the brain changes through adolescence and into adulthood, which is needed to identify patterns of development associated with the emergence of mental illness.
Interventions
RADIATIONPET Imaging Scan using [11C]UCB-J
\[11C\]UCB-J (\~ 15 mCi and ≤ 6μg) will be injected as a slow intravenous bolus. Following an intravenous bolus injection of \[11C\]UCB-J, the participants will be positioned in the scanner for a low dose CT scan (for attenuation correction) fifty-five minutes after the \[11C\]UCB-J injection, and emission data will be collected.
Sponsors
Beatriz Luna
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Males or females between 18-26 years of age, AND currently enrolled in the Parent Project (R01MH067924)
Exclusion criteria
(these
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Non-invasive quantification of synaptic pruning | The PET-CT scan will be within approximately 30 days of the parent study MRI. | 1\. Age-related changes in synaptic density through young adulthood o Cross-sectional age-related (18-26 years of age) changes in synaptic density via SUVR quantified within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORBeatriz Luna, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Outcome results
None listed