Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, University of Niigata, Niigata, Japan.
Pediatr Res. 2017 Nov;82(5):749-752. doi: 10.1038/pr.2017.101. Epub 2017 Jul 12.
BackgroundThe aim of the present study was to investigate maturational changes in glutamate (Glu) in the human cerebral cortex from childhood to young adulthood using 3.0-Tesla proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS), which is capable of quantifying Glu in vivo.MethodsNormal volunteers comprising 11 children (aged 4-13 years) and 11 young adults (aged 18-33 years) participated in the study. Single-voxel point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS, repetition time/echo time=2,000/80 ms) was performed on the frontal and occipital cortices, and the Glu-to-creatine ratio (Glu/Cr) and N-acetylaspartate-to-creatine ratio (NAA/Cr) were determined.ResultsIn both the frontal and occipital cortices, Glu/Cr was significantly lower during young adulthood relative to that during childhood. NAA/Cr did not differ significantly between the two age groups.ConclusionThis study has provided objective evidence that cerebral cortical Glu/Cr decreases between childhood and young adulthood. The observed decrease in Glu/Cr may reflect the simultaneous occurrence of maturational changes, such as changes in cortical microstructure and the intercellular compartmentation of Glu metabolism.
本研究旨在使用 3.0 特斯拉质子磁共振波谱（H-MRS）研究谷氨酸（Glu）在人类大脑皮层从儿童到成年早期的成熟变化，该技术能够在体内定量检测 Glu。
本研究纳入了 11 名儿童（4-13 岁）和 11 名年轻成年人（18-33 岁）作为正常志愿者。在额叶和枕叶皮质上进行单体素点分辨波谱（PRESS，重复时间/回波时间=2,000/80ms），并测定 Glu 与肌酸比（Glu/Cr）和 N-乙酰天门冬氨酸与肌酸比（NAA/Cr）。
在额叶和枕叶皮质中，年轻成年人的 Glu/Cr 明显低于儿童期。两个年龄组之间的 NAA/Cr 无显著差异。
本研究提供了客观证据表明，大脑皮质的 Glu/Cr 在儿童期和成年早期之间下降。观察到的 Glu/Cr 减少可能反映了成熟变化的同时发生，例如皮质微观结构的变化和 Glu 代谢的细胞间区室化的变化。
