TY - JOUR
T1 - Proton MR spectroscopy correlates of frontal lobe function in healthy children
AU - Ozturk, A.
AU - Degaonkar, M.
AU - Matson, M. A.
AU - Wells, C. T.
AU - Mahone, E. M.
AU - Horská, Alena
PY - 2009/8
Y1 - 2009/8
N2 - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuroimaging methods have been used to improve our understanding of the topographic organization of the brain. In our study, proton 1H-MR spectroscopic imaging was used to evaluate frontal lobe function. The goal was to determine the relationship between neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe function and levels of a surrogate neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), in typically developing healthy children and adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one healthy children (25 girls; 6.2-18.3 years of age; mean age, 12.3 ± 3.6 years) were examined. All children completed a neuropsychological assessment including measures of attention, executive function, memory, language, and visual and motor skills. 1H-MR spectroscopic imaging was performed by using a multisection spin-echo sequence at 1.5T. General linear model analysis of covariance was used to examine the relationship between the neuropsychological test scores and NAA/creatine (Cr) ratios, controlling for age and sex. RESULTS: A positive relationship between frontal lobe white matter NAA/Cr ratio and performance on 2 neuropsychological tests associated with frontal lobe function was detected. The Purdue Pegboard right-hand scores were higher with increasing NAA/Cr in the left frontal white matter (P = .047), and Stanford-Binet-IV "Bead Memory" scores improved with increasing NAA/Cr ratio in the right frontal white matter (P = .032). CONCLUSIONS: An association between frontal white matter NAA/Cr ratios and 1) measures of manual speed and dexterity, and 2) visual working memory was detected. Our data may provide a quantitative basis for assessment of frontal lobe impairments in disease states.
AB - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuroimaging methods have been used to improve our understanding of the topographic organization of the brain. In our study, proton 1H-MR spectroscopic imaging was used to evaluate frontal lobe function. The goal was to determine the relationship between neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe function and levels of a surrogate neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), in typically developing healthy children and adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one healthy children (25 girls; 6.2-18.3 years of age; mean age, 12.3 ± 3.6 years) were examined. All children completed a neuropsychological assessment including measures of attention, executive function, memory, language, and visual and motor skills. 1H-MR spectroscopic imaging was performed by using a multisection spin-echo sequence at 1.5T. General linear model analysis of covariance was used to examine the relationship between the neuropsychological test scores and NAA/creatine (Cr) ratios, controlling for age and sex. RESULTS: A positive relationship between frontal lobe white matter NAA/Cr ratio and performance on 2 neuropsychological tests associated with frontal lobe function was detected. The Purdue Pegboard right-hand scores were higher with increasing NAA/Cr in the left frontal white matter (P = .047), and Stanford-Binet-IV "Bead Memory" scores improved with increasing NAA/Cr ratio in the right frontal white matter (P = .032). CONCLUSIONS: An association between frontal white matter NAA/Cr ratios and 1) measures of manual speed and dexterity, and 2) visual working memory was detected. Our data may provide a quantitative basis for assessment of frontal lobe impairments in disease states.
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U2 - 10.3174/ajnr.A1576
DO - 10.3174/ajnr.A1576
M3 - Article
C2 - 19357380
AN - SCOPUS:68549109400
SN - 0195-6108
VL - 30
SP - 1308
EP - 1314
JO - American Journal of Neuroradiology
JF - American Journal of Neuroradiology
IS - 7
ER -