Fig. 6.

Slices at the level of the ventral thalamus show that in response to mCPP healthy volunteers significantly activate in the head of the caudate nucleus bilaterally (increase in CMRglc: right caudate, 28.3 ± 21.9%; left caudate, 35.1 ± 31.2%). In the corresponding regions of the striatum the alcoholics show no significant increase in glucose uptake (increase in CMRglc: right caudate, 8.2 ± 18.5%; left caudate, 9.3 ± 23.8%). Both healthy volunteers and alcoholics have regions of significant increase in the ventral thalamus (for healthy volunteers the increase in CMRglc of the right ventral thalamus was 10.5 ± 32.5% and in the left ventral thalamus, 15.6 ± 22.8%; for alcoholics the increase in CMRglc of right ventral thalamus was 52.6 ± 47.7% and in the left ventral thalamus, 22.1 ± 15.6%). There is also an area of significantly increased glucose utilization in the right opercular cortex of the alcoholics, which is not present among the healthy volunteers.