The Normal Neonatal Brain: MR Imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and 3D MR Spectroscopy in Healthy Term Neonates

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 calcu-lated 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 103 mm2/s). The NAA/choline ratio ranged between 0.58 and 0.73, and minimal lactate/choline (0.15) could b