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AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

Published ahead of print on April 8, 2009
doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A1576

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American Journal of Neuroradiology 30:1308-1314, August 2009
© 2009 American Society of Neuroradiology

PEDIATRICS

Proton MR Spectroscopy Correlates of Frontal Lobe Function in Healthy Children

A. Ozturk^a, M. Degaonkar^a, M.A. Matson^b, C.T. Wells^c, E.M. Mahone^d and A. Horská^a

^a Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md
^b Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Mass
^c Pediatric Neuropsychology Division, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC
^d Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Md

Please address correspondence to Alena Horská, PhD, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, 720 Rutland Ave, Traylor 217, Baltimore, MD 21205; e-mail: ahorska{at}jhmi.edu

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.