Abstract #4313

Temporal Evolution of Brain Metabolic Substrates Differs Among Major Anatomical Lobes During the First Months of Life in Human

Yang Yang¹, Hongyu An², Feng Shi², Wei Gao², Dinggang Shen², Weili Lin²

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering & BRIC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; ²Department of Radiology & BRIC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

In this study, a 3D 1H-MRS method was employed to investigate early brain metabolic maturation in the first months of life in human. We found that development of neuronal functions largely occurs during the first 3 months of life, followed by a plateau from 3 to 6 months. We also found that rather stable NAA/Cr ratio in the occipital lobe may suggest that a large part of metabolic substrate of visual function may have already completed by the time of birth.