With A Better BRAIN comes a Better LIFE
Why SPECT Imaging?
What if mental health was
really brain health?
HEALTHY BRAIN Image
The SPECT images help the clinician understand where the brain is not functioning properly so they can give a more accurate diagnosis and treatment offering. In our study, the use of SPECT neuroimaging modified the diagnostic thinking and led clinicians to make different, specific treatment recommendations in a high percentage of cases.
Brain SPECT imaging is a form of neuroimaging that reveals the underlying physiology of emotional, behavioral and cognitive disorders such as:
• Anxiety
• Depression
• ADD
• Memory loss
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Addiction
• Autism
• Seizures
• Strokes
• Toxic exposure
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
There are many ways to optimize your brain. You can create a brain-healthy life by learning how to love and care for your brain.
A study titled “Specific Ways Brain SPECT Imaging Enhances Clinical Psychiatric Practice” was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, an authoritative peer-reviewed periodical that contains timely, multidisciplinary information for clinicians and other professionals in the drug abuse field.
The study revealed how brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging can help clinicians more accurately diagnose and treat a wide variety of brain conditions by examining the organ responsible for decision-making, behaviors, and overall cognitive functioning.
Co-authored by Dr. Amen, Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., and Joseph Annibali, M.D., the study asked seven board-certified psychiatrists to evaluate 109 patients’ files without the SPECT images and give their professional diagnoses and recommended treatment.
After they saw the SPECT scans:
1. 79% of the diagnosis and/or treatment would have been different.
2. 22% of the patients showed unexpected brain injury and toxicity.
3. 60% showed new targets for medication or supplements.
Can you name a medical professional that prescribes medication or treatment without looking at the organ they treat?
Over the past three decades Amen Clinics have built the world’s largest database of brain SPECT scans, which can be used to better understand ourselves and to create more effective treatments, so individuals and families can get the help they deserve.