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Positron emission tomography study of human brain functional development
Author(s) -
Chugani Harry T.,
Phelps Michael E.,
Mazziotta John C.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410220408
Subject(s) - cerebellum , basal ganglia , thalamus , cerebellar vermis , grey matter , cerebellar cortex , population , brainstem , cerebral cortex , cortex (anatomy) , white matter , chemistry , central nervous system , anatomy , physiology , neuroscience , psychology , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , environmental health
From over 100 children studied with 2‐deoxy‐2{ 18 F}fluoro‐ D ‐glucose and positron emission tomography we selected 29 children (aged 5 days to 15.1 years) who had suffered transient neurological events not significantly affecting normal neurodevelopment. These 29 children were reasonably representative of normal children and provided an otherwise unobtainable population in which to study developmental changes in local cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (lCMRGlc). In infants less than 5 weeks old lCMRGlc was highest in sensorimotor cortex, thalamus, brainstem, and cerebellar vermis. By 3 months, lCMRGlc had increased in parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices; basal ganglia; and cerebellar cortex. Frontal and dorsolateral occipital cortical regions displayed a maturational rise in lCMRGlc by approximately 6 to 8 months. Absolute values of lCMRGlc for various grey matter regions were low at birth (13 to 25 μmol/min/100 gm), and rapidly rose to reach adult values (19 to 33 μmol/min/100 gm) by 2 years. lCMRGlc continued to rise until, by 3 to 4 years, it reached values of 49 to 65 μmol/min/100 gm in most regions. These high rates were maintained until approximately 9 years, when they began to Decemberline, and reached adult rates again by the latter part of the second Decemberade. The highest increases of lCMRGlc over adult values occurred in cerebral cortical structures; lesser increases were seen in subcortical structures and in the cerebellum. This time course of lCMRGlc changes matches that describing the process of initial overproduction and subsequent elimination of excessive neurons, synapses, and dendritic spines known to occur in the developing brain. The determination of changing metabolic patterns accompanying normal brain development is a necessary prelude to the study of abnormal brain development with positron emission tomography.