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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 10.
Published in final edited form as: Dev Psychopathol. 2014 Mar 12;26(2):405–423. doi: 10.1017/S0954579414000030

Table 3.

31P MR Spectroscopic findings in healthy children and adolescent

Investigators Sample MRS Region(s) of interest Metabolites/findings
Boesch et al. (1989) 33 wks – 6 yrs.
(n = 40, 48 exams)
healthy (25%)
cerebral pathology (75%)
chloral hydrate
SV, 2.35 T bilateral fronto-temporal regions
  • -

    PME/PDE declines until 1.3 yrs.

  • -

    PCr/β-NTP increases until 1.3 yrs.

van der Knaap et al. (1990) 1 mo – 16 yrs.
mean=5.9 yrs.
(n = 41)
no sedation
SV, 1.5T paraventricular region, predominantly WM
  • -

    PME/β-NTP decreases with age

  • -

    PDE/β-NTP, PCr/β-NTP, PCr/Pi increases with age

Moss & Talagala (1997) mean = 13.4 yrs.
(n = 29)
sedation not specified
CSI, 1.5 T
3.5cm3
mesial frontal lobe
mesial occipital lobe
  • -

    females, β-NTP higher occipital than frontal

  • -

    males, β-NTP higher in frontal than occipital

  • -

    males, higher PDE in occipital than frontal

Hanaoka et al. (1998) 4 mo – 13 yrs.
(n = 37)
sedation not specified
SV, 2.0 T
60–90cm3
40–60cm3
bilateral fronto-parietal cerebrum
bilateral cerebellar hemispheres
  • -

    PME/PDE decreases until 2 yrs in cerebellum

  • -

    PME/PDE decreases with age in cerebrum

  • -

    PCr/γ-NTP increases 1–2 yrs, peaks at 8 yrs

Goldstein et al. (2009) 6 – 18 yrs.
(n = 105)
no sedation
CSI, 1.5 T
3 × 4.5 × 3 cm
prefrontal cortex
basal ganglia
superior temporal cortex
inferior parietal cortex
centrum semiovale
occipetal regions
  • -

    PCr increases from 6–9.5 yrs., plateaus between 9.5–12 yrs. and increases again between 12–18 yrs.

  • -

    PME/PDE lower in youngest (6–9.5 yrs.) vs. oldest (12–18 yrs.) age group.

Abbreviations: SV, single voxel; CSI, chemical shift imaging; WM, white matter; GM, gray matter.

Note: Subjects in all studies were healthy, normally developing individuals except where noted otherwise. Findings reported in this table reflect healthy subjects only.