Takuya Toyonaga, MD, PhD

Featured Publications

• High-resolution in utero SV2A PET imaging of the nonhuman primate brain using the NeuroEXPLORER.

  Mehta S, Sun H, Micali N, Holden D, Fowles K, Rossano S, Zhang J, Ma C, Han P, Lee W, Duque A, Rakic P, Groman S, Carson R, Scheinost D, Toyonaga T. High-resolution in utero SV2A PET imaging of the nonhuman primate brain using the NeuroEXPLORER. Journal Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism : Official Journal Of The International Society Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism 2026, 271678x261429044. PMID: 41823342, PMCID: PMC12987752, DOI: 10.1177/0271678x261429044.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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• SV2A PET reveals synaptic density loss in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and in a pilot multiple sclerosis study

  Chia PHJ, Toyonaga T, Tong J, Le H, Dias M, Boyle AJ, Raymond R, Longbrake EE, Huang Y, Carson RE, Airas L, Vasdev N, Chen MK, Zheng C. SV2A PET reveals synaptic density loss in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and in a pilot multiple sclerosis study. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences 2026, 123: e2517709123. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2517709123.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

• Development and Initial Evaluation of 3D-Printed High Resolution Brain Phantom for PET

  Lo C, Shanina E, Gravel P, Hu Y, Lucero S, Martins S, Mulnix T, Fontaine K, Nejati S, Sun X, Li H, Qi J, Cherry S, Carson R, Toyonaga T. Development and Initial Evaluation of 3D-Printed High Resolution Brain Phantom for PET. IEEE Transactions On Radiation And Plasma Medical Sciences 2025, PP: 1-1. PMID: 41446501, PMCID: PMC12724537, DOI: 10.1109/trpms.2025.3638588.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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• Exceptional brain PET images from the NeuroEXPLORER: scans with targeted radiopharmaceuticals and comparison to HRRT

  Volpi T, Toyonaga T, Khattar N, Gallezot J, Naganawa M, Vanderlinden G, Honhar P, Zeng T, Fontaine K, Mulnix T, Hu L, Sun X, Henry S, Matuskey D, Radhakrishnan R, Guo L, Hu Y, Zhang J, Zheng X, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Badawi R, Cherry S, Hillmer A, Jones T, Liu C, Morris E, Qi J, Li H, Carson R. Exceptional brain PET images from the NeuroEXPLORER: scans with targeted radiopharmaceuticals and comparison to HRRT. European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2025, 53: 2110-2121. PMID: 41177836, PMCID: PMC12860869, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-025-07605-4.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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• The regional pattern of age-related synaptic loss in the human brain differs from gray matter volume loss: in vivo PET measurement with [11C]UCB-J

  Toyonaga T, Khattar N, Wu Y, Lu Y, Naganawa M, Gallezot J, Matuskey D, Mecca A, Pittman B, Dias M, Nabulsi N, Finnema S, Chen M, Arnsten A, Radhakrishnan R, Skosnik P, D’Souza D, Esterlis I, Huang Y, van Dyck C, Carson R. The regional pattern of age-related synaptic loss in the human brain differs from gray matter volume loss: in vivo PET measurement with [11C]UCB-J. European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2023, 51: 1012-1022. PMID: 37955791, PMCID: PMC12701775, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06487-8.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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• Imaging the fetal nonhuman primate brain with SV2A positron emission tomography (PET)

  Rossano S, Toyonaga T, Berg E, Lorence I, Fowles K, Nabulsi N, Ropchan J, Li S, Ye Y, Felchner Z, Kukis D, Huang Y, Benveniste H, Tarantal AF, Groman S, Carson RE. Imaging the fetal nonhuman primate brain with SV2A positron emission tomography (PET). European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2022, 49: 3679-3691. PMID: 35633376, PMCID: PMC9826644, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-05825-6.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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  MeSH Keywords and Concepts

• PET Imaging of Synaptic Density: Challenges and Opportunities of Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A PET in Small Animal Imaging

  Toyonaga T, Fesharaki-Zadeh A, Strittmatter SM, Carson RE, Cai Z. PET Imaging of Synaptic Density: Challenges and Opportunities of Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A PET in Small Animal Imaging. Frontiers In Neuroscience 2022, 16: 787404. PMID: 35345546, PMCID: PMC8957200, DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.787404.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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• Deep learning–based attenuation correction for whole-body PET — a multi-tracer study with 18F-FDG, 68 Ga-DOTATATE, and 18F-Fluciclovine

  Toyonaga T, Shao D, Shi L, Zhang J, Revilla EM, Menard D, Ankrah J, Hirata K, Chen MK, Onofrey JA, Lu Y. Deep learning–based attenuation correction for whole-body PET — a multi-tracer study with 18F-FDG, 68 Ga-DOTATATE, and 18F-Fluciclovine. European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2022, 49: 3086-3097. PMID: 35277742, PMCID: PMC10725742, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-05748-2.

  Peer-Reviewed Original Research

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  MeSH Keywords and Concepts

• Feasibility of imaging synaptic density in the human spinal cord using [11C]UCB-J PET

  Rossano S, Toyonaga T, Bini J, Nabulsi N, Ropchan J, Cai Z, Huang Y, Carson RE. Feasibility of imaging synaptic density in the human spinal cord using [11C]UCB-J PET. EJNMMI Physics 2022, 9: 32. PMID: 35503134, PMCID: PMC9065222, DOI: 10.1186/s40658-022-00464-0.

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• Partial volume correction analysis for 11C-UCB-J PET studies of Alzheimer's disease

  Lu Y, Toyonaga T, Naganawa M, Gallezot JD, Chen MK, Mecca AP, van Dyck CH, Carson RE. Partial volume correction analysis for 11C-UCB-J PET studies of Alzheimer's disease. NeuroImage 2021, 238: 118248. PMID: 34119639, PMCID: PMC8454285, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118248.

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  MeSH Keywords