PET images show the metabolic degeneration of the brain of a patient with Alzheimer's as it progressively reduces brain function. In the early stages of the disease, limited areas of the brain are dysfunctional (arrows in upper image), but in late stages of Alzheimer's, larger brain areas are affected (arrows in upper and lower images). The structures that are spared and remain functioning (black images) are the portion of the cortex that controls the motor systems, such as the legs, arms and hands (upper image), the internal structures (center structures that are black in lower image) and the visual cortex at the back (bottom of the lower image). Notice that the metabolic function of the brain with late stage Alzheimer's resembles that of a child. This correlates with the child-like functional behavior of these patients.

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