Lynn Michelle Anderson1, Linda Chang1,
Steven Buchthal1, Brian Keating1, Christine Cloak1,
Thomas Ernst1
1Department of Medicine, John A. Burns
School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hi, United
States
Normal
infant brain development was evaluated using both DTI and MRS. Apparent diffusion (ADC) and fractional
anisotropy (FA) were correlated to
brain metabolites within the same MRS voxel in 5 brain regions. With increasing postconceptional age,
increases in FA and decreases in ADC were associated with increases in NA, in
the frontal white matter, which reflect more coherent fiber organization and
axonal growth. Similar age-related
changes in DTI measures in the CST were associated with decreased MI which
suggests myelination or a reduction in radial glia. Decreased tCr and CHO in the FGM combined
with decreased ADC suggest cellular pruning.
Keywords