Using PET H2O15 brain imaging to study the functional–anatomical correlates of non-human primate communication

Ricardo Gil-da-Costa, Allen Braun, Alex Martin
2006 Methods  
In this article we describe methods for using oxygen-15 water (H 2 O 15 ) positron emmission tomography (PET) to explore the functional neuroanatomy of cognition in awake, non-human primates. The discussion is based on a recent study designed to identify regions in the monkey brain associated with perceiving auditory stimuli, and species-specific calls, in particular [1]. Details are provided concerning critical aspects of the experimental paradigm, including pre-scanning habituation sessions
more » ... acclimate the animals to the PET scanner environment, and details of a pilot study to determine the auditory stimulus parameters necessary to produce robust activity in brain regions known to process auditory information (belt and parabelt regions of monkey auditory cortex). Methods for acquiring and analyzing PET data in order to identify significant regions of brain activity in single animals are also presented.
doi:10.1016/j.ymeth.2005.08.003 pmid:16466931 pmcid:PMC1550778 fatcat:ihkolf47lvghdgursh74d3m27i