Alexander K. Converse Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison  Assistant Scientist   Contact Information Waisman Center UW-Madison 1500 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705 608/265-6604 akconverse@wisc.edu http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu/

Alex Converse studies the interaction between modulatory neural pathways, particularly dopamine neurons, and other brain circuitry. The goal is to describe the role of dopaminergic neuromodulation at the systems level in the human brain in such processes as movement, reward, and attention. He is currently working on an NIH funded project to develop a dual tracer PET method to simultaneously image and correlate dopamine release and blood flow alteration. Future work in humans may involve sequential PET and  MRI scans and possibly simultaneous PET and MRI imaging. Additionally, he is carrying out a PET study funded by Pfizer to determine the dopamine receptor occupancy of a candidate antipsychotic compound. He is responsible for microPET operations at the Waisman Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and collaborates with a number of investigators using a variety of PET tracers to study the dopamine and serotonin systems, glucose utilization, microglial activation, and other aspects of brain biology. Converse AK, Barnhart TE, Dabbs KA, Dejesus OT, Larson JA, Nickles RJ, Schneider ML, Roberts AD (2004) PET Measurement of rCBF in the presence of a neurochemical tracer. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 132:199-208 Dejesus OT, Flores LG, Converse AK, Murali D, Bartlett RM, Barnhart TE, Oakes TR, Nickles RJ (2005) Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase Turnover in vivo in Rhesus Macaque Striatum: A MicroPET Study [in press]. Brain Research Fox AS, Oakes TR, Shelton SE, Converse AK, Davidson RJ, Kalin NH (2005) Calling for help is independently modulated by brain systems underlying goal-directed behavior and threat perception. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:4176-4179 Barnhart TE, Converse AK, Dabbs KA, Schueller MJ, Stone CK, Nickles RJ, Roberts AD (2005) Production of [17F]CH3F (t1/2=65 sec), an improved PET tracer for rCBF measurement. Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes 62:525-532 Click to search National Library of Medicine and PubMed for other publications by Dr. Converse

Last updated 1/12/2006 by rowley@waisman.wisc.edu