TY - JOUR T1 - The Normal Neonatal Brain: MR Imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and 3D MR Spectroscopy in Healthy Term Neonates JF - American Journal of Neuroradiology JO - Am. J. Neuroradiol. SP - 1015 LP - 1021 DO - 10.3174/ajnr.A0521 VL - 28 IS - 6 AU - A.I. Bartha AU - K.R.L. Yap AU - S.P. Miller AU - R.J. Jeremy AU - M. Nishimoto AU - D.B. Vigneron AU - A.J. Barkovich AU - D.M. Ferriero Y1 - 2007/06/01 UR - http://www.ajnr.org/content/28/6/1015.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is a lack of normative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and 3D MR spectroscopy (MRS) data in the early neonatal period. We report quantitative values from a cohort of healthy term neonates to serve as baseline data for studies assessing brain development and injury.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen healthy term neonates (median age, 7 days) were studied with spin-echo T1- and T2-weighted MR imaging, DTI, and 3D point-resolved spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) MRS without sedation on a 1.5T scanner. Average diffusivity (Dav), fractional anisotropy (FA), eigenvalues (EV), and metabolite ratios (N-acetylaspartate [NAA]/choline, lactate/choline) were calculated by automated processing in 7 brain regions. Neurodevelopment was assessed by blinded and validated neuromotor examinations and the Bayley II test at 3 and 14 months.RESULTS: Two neonates were excluded from the cohort: one had brain injury on T2-weighted imaging, and the other, who had normal MR imaging, showed mildly delayed cognition at 14 months. The mean DTI values of the remaining 14 neonates were between these ranges: Dav=0.98–1.48 10−3 mm2/s, FA=0.14–0.30, EV1=1.21–1.88, EV2=0.95–1.46, and EV3=0.77–1.24 (all × 10−3 mm2/s). The NAA/choline ratio ranged between 0.58 and 0.73, and minimal lactate/choline (<0.15) could be detected in each neonate. All neonates exhibited clinically normal neuromotor status.CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining high-quality quantifiable MR data in nonsedated healthy term neonates that can be used to study normal early brain development and as control data in studies of perinatal brain injury. ER -